escrow

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛ.skɹəʊ̯/ (UK); /ˈɛ.skɹoʊ̯/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman escrowe, escroue,^[2][3][4][5] from Old French escroe (“scrap, strip of parchment, scroll”),^[2][3][4][6] from a Germanic source,^[3][4][7] compare Old High German scrōt (“scrap, shred”) (see shred).^[3][4][8] It is the original word of which scroll is a diminutive.^[8][2][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In law, a written deed fully executed by the parties but placed with a third person until some condition is fulfilled, when it is delivered to the grantee (1594 in Merriam-Webster; 1598 in the OED and Barnhart; 1590s in Etymonline).^{[5][10][3][4]}

Semantic evolution

From the idea of a deed held by a third person until a condition is met, the word came to mean money or property so held in trust.^[4][5] In North America in escrow is used of a deposit held in trust or as security (1888),^[10] as for paying taxes or insurance on a mortgaged home.^[6][5] The verb, to place in escrow, dates from 1946.^[10][5]

Timeline

• 1594 – a deed held by a third party.^[5]
• 1598 – first quotation in the OED.^[10][3]
• 1888 – in escrow, a deposit held in trust.^[10]
• 1946 – verb, to place in escrow.^[10][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. (law) Money, property, a deed or a bond put in the keeping of a third party, to be delivered to the grantee only when certain conditions are fulfilled.
2. The state of being so held, usually in the phrase “in escrow”.
3. A fund or deposit held for a particular purpose, such as paying taxes.

Verb

1. To place in escrow.

Related words

• scroll
• shred
• screed
• trust

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
10. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press