hypothec

English

Etymology

From Latin hypothēca (“pledge, mortgage”), from Ancient Greek ὑποθήκη (hupothḗkē, “warning, pledge”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /haɪˈpɒθ.ɪk/, /hɪˈ-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /haɪˈpɑ.θɪk/, /hɪˈ-/
• Rhymes: -ɒθɪk

Noun

hypothec (usually uncountable, plural hypothecs)

1. (law) In Scotland, a landlord's right over the stocking (cattle, implements, etc.), and crops of his tenant, as security for payment of rent.
2. (law) In Québec, a legal right over property used as security for an obligation, such as a mortgage.
3. (colloquial) Everything; the whole lot.

   ...saddle and all, the whole hypothec turned round and grovelled in the dust below the donkey’s belly.

Related terms

• hypothecate

References

• Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879) by Robert Louis Stevenson