Black's Law Dictionary (2nd edition)dictionaries

Respondentia

The hypothecation of the cargo or goods on board a ship as se-curity for the repayment of a loan, the term “■bottomry” being confined to hypothecations of the ship herself; but now the term “re-spondentia” is seldom used, and the expression “bottomry” is generally employed, whether the vessel or her cargo or both be the security. Maude & P. Shipp. 433; Smith, Merc. Law, 416. See Maitland v. The At* lantlc, 16 Fed. Cas. 522

Source: Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)