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amortize

[ am-er-tahyz, uh-mawr-tahyz ]
/ ˈæm ərˌtaɪz, əˈmɔr taɪz /
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verb (used with object), am·or·tized, am·or·tiz·ing.
Finance.
  1. to liquidate or extinguish (a mortgage, debt, or other obligation), especially by periodic payments to the creditor or to a sinking fund.
  2. to write off a cost of (an asset) gradually.
Old English Law. to convey to a corporation or church group; alienate in mortmain.
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Also especially British, am·or·tise .

Origin of amortize

1375–1425; Middle English amortisen<Anglo-French, Old French amortiss-, long stem of amortir literally, to kill, die <Vulgar Latin *a(d)mortīre (derivative of Latin mors, stem mort- death, with ad-ad-); -ize later replacing -is(s)-, probably by association with Anglo-Latin a(d)mortizāre

OTHER WORDS FROM amortize

am·or·tiz·a·ble, adjectivenon·am·or·tiz·a·ble, adjectiveun·am·or·tized, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

British Dictionary definitions for amortize

amortize

amortise

/ (əˈmɔːtaɪz) /
verb (tr)
finance to liquidate (a debt, mortgage, etc) by instalment payments or by periodic transfers to a sinking fund
to write off (a wasting asset) by annual transfers to a sinking fund
property law (formerly) to transfer (lands, etc) in mortmain

Derived forms of amortize

amortizable or amortisable, adjective

Word Origin for amortize

C14: from Medieval Latin admortizāre, from Old French amortir to reduce to the point of death, ultimately from Latin ad to + mors death
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
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