[hahy-poth-ik, hi-] 
| 1. | Roman and Civil Law. a mortgage or security held by a creditor on the property of a debtor without possession of it, created either by agreement or by operation of law. |
| 2. | (in some modern legal systems) a security interest created in immovable property. |
hypothec
in Roman law, a type of security for a debt in which the creditor had neither ownership nor possession. It arose in cases in which a renter needed the use of the things that he pledged as security for his continued payment of rent, usually tools or equipment necessary for working the land he was renting. Possession could be taken by the creditor only when the debt, or, in this case, the rent, was not paid
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ɪk
kē