What is "nexum"

n. A contract in early Ancient Rome in which the debtor pledged his own person as collateral should he default on his loan (thus risking becoming a slave to the creditor).

Nexum was a debt bondage contract in the early Roman Republic. The debtor pledged his person as collateral should he default on his loan. Nexum was abolished by the Lex Poetelia Papiria in 326 BC.