security

Security

Protection; assurance; indemnification.

The term security is usually applied to a deposit, lien, or mortgage voluntarily given by a debtor to a creditor to guarantee payment of a debt. Security furnishes the creditor with a resource to be sold or possessed in case of the debtor's failure to meet his or her financial obligation. In addition, a person who becomes a surety for another is sometimes referred to as a "security."

West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

security

1 in connection with the granting of a loan facility, the obtaining by the lender of rights additional to those deriving from the borrower to pay the interest due and to repay the principal debt in accordance with the provisions of the loan agreement; it confers a right to look to some identified fund or property, or to some other person, for payment. Those forms of security conferring recourse to particular funds or property are MORTGAGE, STANDARD SECURITY, CHARGE, PLEDGE, HYPOTHEC and LIEN. The forms of security permitting a creditor to look to a third party for satisfaction are GUARANTEE and INDEMNITY.

2 right to security, see HUMAN RIGHTS.

Collins Dictionary of Law © W.J. Stewart, 2006

SECURITY. That which renders a matter sure; an instrument which renders certain the performance of a contract. The term is also sometimes applied to designate a person who becomes the surety for another, or who engages himself for the performance of another's contract. See 3 Blackf. R. 431.

A Law Dictionary, Adapted to the Constitution and Laws of the United States. By John Bouvier. Published 1856.