v. Forms: 4 amorteise, 5–6 amortyse, -eyse, -ysse, 4– amortise, 7– amortize. Aphet. 5 mortayse. [orig. a. Fr. amortiss- extended stem of amort-ir to bring to death, cogn. w. Pr. amortir, OCat. amortir, It. ammortire:—possible late L. *admortīre, f. ad to + mort-em death. The etymological spelling of the last syllable would be -ise or rather -iss, -ish; amortize follows the med.L. a(d)mortizā-re, formed on the mod. languages: see -IZE 2.]
† 1. trans. To deaden, render as if dead, destroy.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Pers. T., 173 (Hengwrt MS.). The goode werkes that men don whil thay ben in good lif ben al amortised [other texts al mortefied] by synne folwyng.
1656. Blount, Glossogr., Amortize, to deaden, kill, or slay.
† 2. intr. To droop, hang as dead. Obs. rare.
1480. Caxton, Ovid’s Metam., XI. xix. With thys rayne wente the sayle amortyssynge and hanging hevy.
3. To alienate in mortmain, i.e., to convey (property) to a corporation.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XV. 315. And auyse hem … Or þei amortesed to monkes · or chanouns her rentes. Ibid. (1393), C. XVIII. 54. Er thei amorteisede.
c. 1430. Lydg., Min. Poems, 207. Let mellerys and bakerys … a litil chapelle bylde, The place amorteyse, and purchase liberté.
1487. Prior, in Paston Lett., 893, III. 332. The seide annuyte schulde be mortaysed in perpetuyte.
1530. Proper Dyaloge (1863), 37. To amorteyse secular lordshippes to the state of the clergye.
1622. Bacon, Hen. VII., 74. Did in effect amortize a great part of the Lands of the Kingdome unto the Hold and Occupation of the Yeomanrie.
1750. Carte, Hist. Eng., II. 452. Lands amortised without licence.
1875. Stubbs, Const. Hist., III. xviii. 245. To render inalienable or, so to speak, amortize the crown lands.
4. To extinguish or wipe out (a debt or other liability), usually by means of a sinking fund, which eventually redeems it.
1882. St. James’ Gaz., 3 Feb. They would introduce economies in order to amortise the Egyptian Debt.
