- hypothecate (v.)
- 1680s, "pledge (something) without giving up control of it; pawn; mortgage," from hypothecat-, past participle stem of Medieval Latin hypothecare, from Late Latin hypotheca "a pledge," from Greek hypotheke "a deposit, pledge, mortgage," from hypo- "beneath, under" (see hypo-) + tithenai "to put, place" (see theme). Related: Hypothecated; hypothecating; hypothecation; hypothecary.