Mortgage definition

THE TERM MORTGAGE WHERE DOES IT COME FROM?

The great jurist Sir Edward Coke, who lived from 1552 to 1634, has explained why the term mortgage comes from the Old French words mort, “dead,” and gage, “pledge.” It seemed to him that it had to do with the doubtfulness of whether or not the mortgagor will pay the debt. If the mortgagor does not, then the land pledged to the mortgagee as security for the debt “is taken from him for ever, and so dead to him upon condition, &c. And if he doth pay the money, then the pledge is dead as to the [mortgagee].” This etymology, as understood by 17th-century attorneys, of the Old French term morgage, which we adopted, may well be correct. The term has been in English much longer than the 17th century, being first recorded in Middle English with the form morgage and the figurative sense “pledge” in a work written before 1393.

Unfortunately these days, it is no longer just one person who's pledge is dead as to the mortgagee, it is everyone. We all get screwed when others miss their mortgage payments.

By the way, the AIG company American International Group, Inc (NYSE: AIG) who provide insurance for mortgages (bailed out by the government) have had their luxury hotel resort bills exposed on ABC news today.

ABC NEWS
AIG documents obtained by Waxman's investigators show the company paid more than $440,000 for the retreat, including nearly $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals and $23,000 in spa charges.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5973452&page=1