Mont de Piété

See also: Mont-de-Piété

English

Etymology

French

Noun

Mont de Piété (plural Monts de Piété)

1. A European pawnbroking establishment, especially one with charitable aims.
   • 1924, Edward Verrall Lucas, A Wanderer in Paris, →ISBN:

     It is interesting to note that one of the entrances to the Mont de Piété is reserved for clients who wish to raise money on deeds, and I have seen cabmen very busy in bringing to it people who quite shamelessly hold their papers in their hands.

   • 2014, Sarah Lee, Memoirs of Baron Cuvier, →ISBN, page 165:

     She has founded and regulated a sort of Mont de Piété, of a peculiar kind, which would be an admirable institution elsewhere, if it could be multiplied like the infant schools; for it is among the very small number of those which merit the name given to them, for money is there lent without interest and without securities.

   • 2014, Emmauska Orczy, Castles in the Air, →ISBN:

     Well, I did not find that, but I did find the receipt from the Mont de Piété for a parure of emeralds on which half a million francs had been lent.

Usage notes

The term originated from the name of a specific establishment run by the Catholic church, originally in Italy, and then throughout Europe. Over time, the term has been generalized to refer to any European pawnbroker.