escrow English · revision 1478

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1594}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɛ.skɹəʊ̯/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɛ.skɹoʊ̯/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|escrowe]], [[m|xno|escroue]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[fro|escroe|t=scrap, strip of parchment, scroll]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from a Germanic source,^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Collins 2023) compare [[goh|scrōt|t=scrap, shred]] (see [[shred]]).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Skeat 1911) It is the original word of which [[scroll]] is a diminutive.^(Skeat 1911)^(AHD)^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==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).^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==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.^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) In North America ''in escrow'' is used of a deposit held in trust or as security (1888),^(OED 1989) as for paying taxes or insurance on a mortgaged home.^(MWU 2024)^(MW Collegiate) The verb, to place in escrow, dates from 1946.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1594 – a deed held by a third party.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1598 – first quotation in the OED.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1888 – ''in escrow'', a deposit held in trust.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1946 – verb, to place in escrow.^(OED 1989)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(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.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The state of being so held, usually in the phrase “in escrow”.^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A fund or deposit held for a particular purpose, such as paying taxes.^(MW Collegiate)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To place in escrow.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scroll]]

+ * [[shred]]

+ * [[screed]]

+ * [[trust]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}