Mortmain
Literally a "dead hand". From Latin through French, it meant "to give property to an organization, such as a guild or fraternity, that would hold it in perpetuity." The compound word mortgage, "dead pledge", implied that if the loan was not repaid, the collateral was dead and given to the lender; but if the loan was repaid, the pledge became dead. In the late fourteenth century, gage meant collateral to ensure the repayment of a loan.
From, "Forgotten English Knowledge Cards" by Jeffry Kacirk, Pomegranate, CA
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