amortize definition | Dictionary.com

am⋅or⋅tize

[am-er-tahyz, uh-mawr-tahyz]

–verb (used with object), -tized, -tiz⋅ing.

Finance.

a.	to liquidate or extinguish (a mortgage, debt, or other obligation), esp. by periodic payments to the creditor or to a sinking fund.

b.	to write off a cost of (an asset) gradually.

2.	Old English Law. to convey to a corporation or church group; alienate in mortmain.

Also, especially British, am⋅or⋅tise.

Origin:
1375–1425; ME amortisen < AF, OF amortiss-, long s. of amortir lit., to kill, die < VL *a(d)mortīre (deriv. of L mors, s. mort- death, with ad- ad- ); -ize later r. -is(s)-, prob. by assoc. with AL a(d)mortizāre

Related forms:

am⋅or⋅tiz⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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am·or·tize (ām'ər-tīz', ə-môr'-)

tr.v. am·or·tized, am·or·tiz·ing, am·or·tiz·es

To liquidate (a debt, such as a mortgage) by installment payments or payment into a sinking fund.
To write off an expenditure for (office equipment, for example) by prorating over a certain period.

[Middle English amortisen, to alienate in mortmain, from Old French amortir, amortiss-, from Vulgar Latin *admortīre, to deaden : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin mors, mort-, death; see mer- in Indo-European roots.]
am'or·tiz'a·ble adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Amortize

A*mor"tize\, v. t. [OE. amortisen, LL. amortisare, admortizare, F. amortir to sell in mortmain, to extinguish; L. ad + mors death. See Mortmain]. 1. To make as if dead; to destroy. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

2. (Law) To alienate in mortmain, that is, to convey to a corporation. See Mortmain.

3. To clear off or extinguish, as a debt, usually by means of a sinking fund.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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amortize

1377, from O.Fr. amortiss-, prp. stem of amortir "deaden," from V.L. *admortire, from L. ad- "to" + mors (gen. mortis) "death" (see mortal). Originally a legal term for an act of alienating lands. Meaning "extinguish a debt" (in form amortization) is attested from 1864.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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amortize

To write off gradually and systematically a given amount of money within a specific number of time periods. For example, an accountant amortizes the cost of a long-term asset by deducting a portion of that cost against income in each period. Likewise, an investor will usually amortize the premium each year on a bond purchased at a price above its principal.

Main Entry: amor·tize
Pronunciation: 'a-m&r-"tIz, &-'mor-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Forms: -tized; -tiz·ing
: to reduce (an amount) gradually: as a : to pay off (as a loan) gradually usually by periodic payments of principal and interest or payments to a sinking fund b : to gradually reduce the cost of (as an asset) esp. for tax purposes by making periodic charges to income over a time span <amortize the machinery over five years> —see also DEPRECIATION —compare CAPITALIZE, DEDUCT —amor·ti·za·ble adjective —amor·ti·za·tion /"a-m&r-t&-'zA-sh&n, &-"mor-/ noun

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