Born in financial crisis — the moratorium entered common English when 19th-century governments started hitting pause on debt repayment.
A temporary suspension of an activity or obligation, especially an official halt to a legal process.
From Late Latin moratorium meaning thing that delays, neuter of moratorius meaning delaying, from Latin morari meaning to delay, from mora meaning delay Key roots: mora (Latin: "delay, pause").
The word moratorium entered common English during the financial crises of the late 19th century, when governments declared moratoriums on debt repayment to prevent economic collapse. President Hoover's 1931 moratorium on war debt payments during the Great Depression made the word front-page news worldwide.