self-amortizing
|self-am-or-ti-zing|
🇺🇸
/ˌsɛlfəˈmɔrtəˌzaɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˌsɛlfəˈmɔːtəˌzaɪzɪŋ/
pay off gradually
Etymology
'self-amortizing' combines 'self' (from Old English 'self', meaning the same or itself) with 'amortize.' 'Amortize' originates from Old French 'amortir' and Medieval Latin 'admortire', where the element 'mort' related to 'death' (to put to death, extinguish).
'amortize' changed from Old French 'amortir' and Medieval Latin 'admortire' into Early Modern English forms 'amortise'/'amortize'; the compound 'self-amortizing' developed later in financial English to describe debts that are 'extinguished' over time by regular payments.
Initially, related words meant 'to deaden' or 'to put to death' (literal sense). Over time the sense shifted metaphorically to 'extinguish'—especially debts—leading to the modern financial meaning 'to pay off gradually.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the process or arrangement (self-amortization) by which an obligation is amortized automatically through scheduled payments. (This is the noun form derived from the adjective 'self-amortizing'.)
In many mortgages the concept of self-amortizing (self-amortization) ensures the loan will be repaid by the end of the term.
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Adjective 1
describing a loan, bond, asset, or arrangement whose scheduled payments include both interest and principal so that the debt is fully paid off over a set period (i.e., it 'amortizes' itself).
A self-amortizing loan reduces the outstanding principal with each regular payment until the balance is zero at maturity.
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Last updated: 2025/09/04 04:27