In modern society or today, the name shylock is used to refer to an informal money lender. You may have come across such a person in your local area. He lends money and may or may not charge interest on the sums lent and this mostly depends on your relations to them and how close you are. A large part of this transaction is based on trust since it falls within the informal sector. So, that you know who we are talking about :

“What is the origin of the name Shylock?”

At first, I thought the name originated from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. In this play, Shylock is from a small city in Venice, as a money lender. This comes out when Bassanio needs money. Bassanio and his friend Antonio visit Shylock and from this scene, we see Shylock's true character which is the same as a modern-day Shylock's.

Shylock agrees to lend Bassanio 3000 ducats and takes Antonio's ships as collateral. He also warns that if the ships fail to return, he will cut a piece of Antonio’s flesh as collateral . Now we see the qualities of a money lender: interest charged, and consequences of loan defaulting. These parallel the qualities of a shylock although some may argue that Shylock here was extreme for asking for Antonio’s piece of flesh. However; Shylock from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice can be interpreted in many ways.

Now where does the name Shylock come from; It is a Hebrew name and was commonly used by the Hebrews who lived in England during the 16th century. The Hebrews used the name to mean 'white-haired'.

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Photo by Vignesh Moorthy on Unsplash