Literally “dead pledge.”
The term appears in English property law.
A loan secured against property.
So, what happened?
The mort in mortgage really is related to death. English took the term from Old French mort gaige: a “dead pledge.”
The striking phrase was not saying that the borrower would die. Historical explanations concern the pledge: the arrangement came to an end — became “dead” — when the obligation was resolved, whether through repayment or failure under its terms.
One of the most ordinary modern financial words therefore still carries a medieval image inside it.
Does a mortgage mean “a pledge until you die”?
No. “Dead pledge” is real, but the joke that it means paying until your death is not the historical explanation.
Where this story comes from
We distinguish established history from uncertainty. See How we research.
Last editorial review: October 2026. Found something that needs attention?