Bankrupt
mid 16th century: from Italian banca rotta ‘broken bench’, from banca (see bank2) and rompere ‘to break’. The change in the ending was due to association with Latin rupt- ‘broken’.
wiktionary
From Italian banca rotta, which refers to an out-of-business bank, having its bench physically broken. When a moneylender in Northern Italy became insolvent, they would break the bench they worked from to signify that they were no longer in business. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)
etymonline
bankrupt (adj.)
"in the state of one unable to pay just debts or meet obligations," 1560s, from Italian banca rotta, literally "a broken bench," from banca "moneylender's shop," literally "bench" (see bank (n.1)) + rotta "broken, defeated, interrupted" from (and in English remodeled on) Latin rupta, fem. past participle of rumpere "to break" (see rupture (n.)). Said to have been so called from an old custom of breaking the bench of bankrupts, but the allusion probably is figurative. Figurative (non-financial) sense in English is from 1580s. As a noun, "insolvent person," from 1530s.
bankrupt (v.)
"make insolvent," 1550s, from bankrupt (adj.). Related: Bankrupted; bankrupting.
