hypothec

American  

[hahy-poth-ik, hi-] / haɪˈpɒθ ɪk, hɪ- /

noun

1. Roman and Civil Law. a mortgage or security held by a creditor on the property of a debtor without possession of it, created either by agreement or by operation of law.

2. (in some modern legal systems) a security interest created in immovable property.

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hypothec British  

/ haɪˈpɒθɪk /

noun

1. Roman law Scots law a charge on property in favour of a creditor

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Etymology

Origin of hypothec

1585–95; earlier hypotheca < Late Latin < Greek hypothḗkē deposit, pledge, mortgage (akin to hypotithénai to deposit as pledge). See hypo-, theca

Example Sentences

Until the other day there prevailed in Scotland the almost insane law of hypothec, which allowed a landlord to pursue his tenant's goods even into the hands of an "innocent holder."

From Disturbed Ireland Being the Letters Written During the Winter of 1880-81. by Becker, Bernard H.

In French law the landlord’s claim for rent is fairly secured by the hypothec, and by summary powers which exist for the seizure of the effects of defaulting tenants.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2 "Ehud" to "Electroscope" by Various

And at last, in the village of Ussel, saddle and all, the whole hypothec, turned round and grovelled in the dust below the donkey's belly.

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 1 (of 25) by Lang, Andrew

If the hale hypothec were to fa’, I think, laddie, I would dee!

From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25) The Ebb-Tide; Weir of Hermiston by Stevenson, Robert Louis

I would only have lost the expense of my summons, because he had nothing that I could take from him; or if he had anything, his landlord generally came in with his right of hypothec.

From Second Shetland Truck System Report by Guthrie, William