Bankruptcy Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Etymology== The word ''bankruptcy'' is derived from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''banca rotta'', literally meaning "broken bench" but more practically "broken bank". The term is often described as having originated in [[Renaissance]] [[Italy]], where there allegedly existed the tradition of smashing a banker's bench if he defaulted on payment. However, the existence of such a ritual is doubted.<ref name="Loveland1912">{{cite book|author=Frank Olds Loveland|title=A treatise on the law and proceedings in bankruptcy|url=https://archive.org/details/atreatiseonlawa00lovegoog|year=1912|publisher=The W. H. Anderson Co.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/atreatiseonlawa00lovegoog/page/n116 4]–}}</ref><ref>Multiple sources: *{{cite dictionary|title=Bankrupt|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=bankrupt&searchmode=none|dictionary=Online Etymology Dictionary|access-date=22 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323232935/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=bankrupt&searchmode=none|archive-date=23 March 2014}} *{{cite web|title=Bankrupt – Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bankrupt|publisher=Merriam-Webster Dictionary|access-date=22 April 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323225422/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bankrupt|archive-date=23 March 2014}} *{{cite web|title=Bankrupt|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/bankrupt|publisher=Oxford Dictionaries|access-date=22 April 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140425041038/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/bankrupt|archive-date=25 April 2014}} *{{Cite journal |last=Vrooman |first=O. O. |date=1932 |title=Origin and History of the Bankruptcy Law |url=https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/clla37&div=26 |journal=Commercial Law Journal |volume=37 |pages=127}} *{{Cite journal |last=Sheppard |first=Jerry |date=1995 |title=Beautifully Broken Benches: A Typology of Strategic Bankruptcies and The Opportunities for Positive Shareholder Returns |url=https://jbs-ojs-shsu.tdl.org/jbs/index.php/jbs/article/view/254 |journal=Journal of Business Strategies |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=99–134 |doi=10.54155/jbs.12.2.99-134 |s2cid=13605970 |issn=0887-2058|doi-access=free }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page