amortization
amortization Lexical Profile
amortization Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The gradual reduction or repayment of a debt, such as a mortgage or business loan, through a schedule of regular installment payments covering both principal and interest.
"The bank provided a detailed schedule showing the full amortization of the thirty-year mortgage."
The accounting practice of spreading the acquisition cost of an intangible asset, such as a patent or copyright, over its projected useful life.
"The corporation recorded an annual expense for the amortization of its newly acquired software patents."
In historical law, the alienation or transfer of lands or tenements to a corporation or religious house in mortmain.
"Medieval statutes strictly regulated the amortization of feudal estates to monastic orders."
Word Nuance & Usage
In accounting, amortization specifically refers to writing off the cost of intangible assets (such as patents, copyrights, or goodwill) over time, whereas depreciation is used for tangible physical assets (such as machinery or buildings).
• Rhymes for amortization
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from Old French amortir ('to deaden' or 'to extinguish a debt'), from Vulgar Latin admortire ('to kill'), combining ad- ('to') and mors ('death'), literally signifying the 'killing off' of a debt.