Mont de Piété

(mōng dū pē/ā-tā′). [Fr., from It. monte di pietà, mount of piety.] One of certain pawnbroking establishments which originated in Italy in the fifteenth century, the object of which was to lend money to necessitous persons at a low rate of interest;—called also mount of piety. The institution has been adopted in other countries, as in Spain and France. See LOMBARD. Eng. Cyc.