bottomry

[bot-uh m-ree]

noun, plural bot·tom·ries. Marine Law.

a contract, of the nature of a mortgage, by which the owner of a ship borrows money to make a voyage, pledging the ship as security.

Origin of bottomry

1615–25; modeled on Dutch bodemerij, equivalent to bodem bottom + -erij -ry

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for bottomry

Historical Examples of bottomry

The bottomry contract in Denmark, Sweden, and the north of Germany.
The Sailor's Word-Book
William Henry Smyth
Loans of this character have ever since been common in maritime lands, under the name of bottomry and respondentia bonds.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 14, Slice 6
Various
The rate of interest was high, usually 12%; and in trading and bottomry the returns were much higher.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 8
Various
Would you have men oratorical over a bottomry bond, Demosthenic about an action of trespass on the case, or a rule to compute?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXIX.
Various
Amongst these in all cases are found claims for salvage, wages, bottomry under certain restrictions, and necessaries.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 16, Slice 5
Various

British Dictionary definitions for bottomry

bottomry

noun plural -ries

maritime law a contract whereby the owner of a ship borrows money to enable the vessel to complete the voyage and pledges the ship as security for the loan

Word Origin for bottomry

C16: from Dutch bodemerij, from bodem bottom (hull of a ship) + -erij -ry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012