The term 'mortgage'

The term 'mortgage' hearkens from Old French as a means of implying a 'dead pledge', meaning that the conditions are no longer binding once the requirements have been met and the stipulations have been adhered to. Essentially the term is interchangeable with the term loan. Both are basically the same with the major difference being in the actual meaning of the former. When someone takes out a loan or home purchase mortgage there must be a form of collateral to ensure that the money will be paid back in full in the time allotted. In order to ensure that the proper funding is paid in full, most banks and lending agencies require some form of collateral, either monetary or some form of assets, tangible or otherwise. The very word mortgage came about as a stipulation on a property, or some sort of condition for borrowed funds. In other words, it is not the loan per se, but simply the evidence of the fact that a substantial amount of funds have been borrowed as a means of securing the return.