collateral
noun/kəˈlætərəl/
/kəˈlætərəl/
[uncountable] (finance)- property or something valuable that you promise to give to somebody if you cannot pay back money that you borrow
- We had put our house up as collateral for our bank loan.
Word Originlate Middle English (as an adjective): from medieval Latin collateralis, from col- ‘together with’ + lateralis (from latus, later- ‘side’). Sense (1) of the noun (originally US) is from the phrase collateral security, denoting something pledged in addition to the main obligation of a contract.Want to learn more?
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