hypothecate

From Latin hypothecatus, past participle of hypotheco, hypothecare. This was in turn derived from Ancient Greek ὑποθήκη (hupothḗkē, “pledge”), from the verb ὑποτίθημι (hupotíthēmi, “to pledge as surety”).

• (UK) IPA^(key): /hʌɪˈpɒθɪkeɪt/

hypothecate (third-person singular simple present hypothecates, present participle hypothecating, simple past and past participle hypothecated)

1. (transitive) To pledge (something) as surety for a loan; to pawn, mortgage.
   • 1943, Raymond Chandler, The High Window, Penguin 2005, p. 12:

     ‘My husband, Jasper Murdock, provided in his will that no part of his collection might be sold, loaned or hypothecated during my lifetime.’

2. (politics, Britain) To designate a new tax or tax increase for a specific expenditure

• Often wrongly used in place of the word hypothesize.

• hypothec