AMORT'IZE, verb transitive [Latin mors, death. See Mortmain.] In English law, to alienate in mortmain, that is, to sell to a corporation, sole or aggregate, ecclesiastical or temporal, and their successors. This was considered as selling to dead hands. This cannot be done without the kings license. [See Mortmain.]
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI