A
pawnbroker is an individual or business (
pawnshop or
pawn shop) that offers
secured loans to people, with items of
personal property used as
collateral. The word
pawn is derived from the
Latin , for
pledge, and the items having been
pawned to the broker are themselves called
pledges or
pawns, or simply the collateral. While many items can be pawned, pawnshops typically accept jewellery, musical instruments, home audio equipment, computers, video game systems, televisions, cameras, power tools and other relatively valuable items as collateral.