Die Wortgeschichte von fr. banqueroute, dt. Bankrott und it. bancarotta

The custom of breaking the table over which an insolvent or fraudulent money changer transacts his business, thereby making his insolvency obvious, was described in medieval times in Italy with the word field of It. rompere(il banco) (recorded since 1392) and Medieval Latin (bancherium) rumpere (c1407). That practice was adopted also in France where it was initially referred to with the phrase (faire) banque route or (much less frequently) (faire) banque rompue (both recorded for the first time in 1455). Subsequently, the French term entered German as Bankrott (first in 1530) and somewhat later Italian as bancarotta (1561).