Collateral
/kəˈlætərəl/noun
Additional security pledged for a loan, or something accompanying or secondary to something else.
Did you know?In Latin, collateralis meant “alongside,” built from com- (“together”) and latus (“side”), and that same root family also gave English words like “ladder,” “lateral,” and “translate.”
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
collateralis
“side-by-side; parallel; sharing a common side”
Middle French
Old French
collateral
“parallel; accompanying; of the same line or rank”
14th Century
English
collateral
“parallel or accompanying; related by descent from the same ancestor”
17th Century
English
collateral
“security pledged beside a loan”
Modern English
English
collateral
“security for a debt; accompanying but secondary”