lombard

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   historical: a pawnshop or lending house that advances money against pledged goods

   The state lombard offered small loans secured by household valuables.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: a banker, pawnbroker, or moneylender, especially one associated with Lombardy

   A Lombard financed the merchant's voyage in return for interest on the loan.

Appears in

From Lombard, a person from Lombardy in northern Italy. Because Lombard merchants were prominent in medieval European banking and secured lending, their name was extended to moneylenders, pawnbrokers, and the pawnshops they operated.

Topics

External links

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