/ kəˈlætərəl; NAmE / noun , adjective
■ noun
[ U ] ( finance ) property or sth valuable that you promise to give to sb if you cannot pay back money that you borrow
■ adjective
( formal ) connected with sth else, but in addition to it and less important :
collateral benefits
The government denied that there had been any collateral damage (= injury to ordinary people or buildings) during the bombing raid.
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (as an adjective): from medieval Latin collateralis , from col- together with + lateralis (from latus , later- side). Sense 1 of the noun (originally US) is from the phrase collateral security , denoting something pledged in addition to the main obligation of a contract.