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Webster 1913 Edition

Lend

Lend

(lĕnd)
,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Lent
(lĕnt)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Lending
.]
[OE.
lenen
, AS.
lǣnan
, fr.
lǣn
loan; akin to G.
lehnen
to lend. See
Loan
.]
1.
To allow the custody and use of, on condition of the return of the same; to grant the temporary use of;
as, to
lend
a book
; – opposed to
borrow
.
Give me that ring.
I’ll
lend
it thee, my dear, but have no power
To give it from me.
Shakespeare
2.
To allow the possession and use of, on condition of the return of an equivalent in kind;
as, to
lend
money or some article of food
.
Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor
lend
him thy victuals for increase.
Levit. xxv. 37.
3.
To afford; to grant or furnish in general;
as, to
lend
assistance; to
lend
one's name or influence.
Cato,
lend
me for a while thy patience.
Addison.
Mountain lines and distant horizons
lend
space and largeness to his compositions.
J. A. Symonds.
4.
To let for hire or compensation;
as, to
lend
a horse or gig
.
☞ This use of the word is rare in the United States, except with reference to money.
To lend a hand
,
to give assistance; to help.
[Colloq.]
–
To lend one's ears
or
To lend an ear
,
to give attention.

Webster 1828 Edition

Lend

LEND

,
Verb.
T.
pret. and pp. lent.
1.
To grant to another for temporary use, on the express or implied condition that the thing shall be returned; as, to lend a book; or
2.
To grant a thing to be used, on the condition that its equivalent in kind shall be returned; as, to lend a sum of money, or a loaf of bread.
3.
To afford; to grant; to furnish, in general; as, to lend assistance; to lend an ear to a discourse.
Cato, lend me for a while they patience.
4.
To grant for temporary use, on condition of receiving a compensation at certain periods for the use of the thing, and an ultimate return of the thing, or its full value. Thus money is lent on condition of receiving interest for the use, and of having the principal sum returned at the stipulated time. Lend is correlative to borrow.
5.
To permit to use for another's benefit. A lent his name to obtain money from the bank.
6.
To let for hire or compensation; as, to lend a horse or gig. [This sense is used by Paley, and probably may be common in England. But in the United States, I believe, the word is never thus used, except in reference to money. We lend money upon interest, but never lend a coach or horse for a compensation. We use let.]

Definition 2024

lend

lend

English

Alternative forms

Noun

lend ‎(plural lends or linder)

  1. (anatomy, Britain dialectal) The lumbar region; loin.
  2. (Britain dialectal, of a person or animal) The loins; flank; buttocks.

Etymology 2

From earlier len (with excrescent -d, as in sound, round, etc.), from Middle English lenen, lænen, from Old English lǣnan ‎(“to lend; give, grant, lease”), from Proto-Germanic *laihnijaną ‎(“to loan”), from Proto-Germanic *laihną ‎(“loan”), from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- ‎(“to leave, leave over”). Cognate with Scots len, lend ‎(“to lend”), West Frisian liene ‎(“to lend, borrow, loan”), Dutch lenen ‎(“to lend, borrow, loan”), German lehnen ‎(“to borrow, lend out, loan”), Swedish låna ‎(“to lend, loan”), Icelandic lána ‎(“to lend, loan”), Icelandic léna ‎(“to grant”), Latin linquō ‎(“quit, leave, forlet”), Ancient Greek λείπω ‎(leípō, “leave, release”). See also loan.

Verb

lend ‎(third-person singular simple present lends, present participle lending, simple past and past participle lent)

  1. (transitive) To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
    • 2013 June 1, “End of the peer show”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 71:
      Finance is seldom romantic. But the idea of peer-to-peer lending comes close. This is an industry that brings together individual savers and lenders on online platforms. Those that want to borrow are matched with those that want to lend.
    I will only lend you my car if you fill up the tank.‎
    I lent her 10 euros to pay for the train tickets, and she paid me back the next day.‎
  2. (intransitive) To make a loan.
  3. (reflexive) To be suitable or applicable, to fit.
    Poems do not lend themselves to translation easily.‎
    The long history of the past does not lend itself to a simple black and white interpretation.‎
  4. To afford; to grant or furnish in general.
    Can you lend me some assistance?
    The famous director lent his name to the new film.
    • Addison
      Cato, lend me for a while thy patience.
    • J. A. Symonds
      Mountain lines and distant horizons lend space and largeness to his compositions.
  5. (proscribed) To borrow.
Antonyms
Derived terms
  • lend to believe
  • have a lend
Translations
See also

References

  • lend in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • lend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *lenta, from Proto-Indo-European *lent 'linse'. Compare Latin lens, lentis, Old High German linsi.

Noun

lend f

  1. acorn
Related terms

Estonian

Noun

lend ‎(genitive lennu, partitive lendu)

  1. flight

Declension

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Etymology

From Middle English lende (usually in plural as lendes, leendes, lyndes), from Old English lendenu, lendinu ‎(“loins”, plural), from Proto-Germanic *landijō, *landį̄ ‎(“loin”), from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- ‎(“loin, kidney”). Cognate with Scots lend, leynd ‎(“the loins, flank, buttocks”), Dutch lendenen ‎(“loins, reins”), German Lenden ‎(“loins”), Swedish länder ‎(“loins”), Icelandic lendar ‎(“loins”), Latin lumbus ‎(“loin”), Russian ля́двея ‎(ljádveja, “thigh, haunch”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: lĕnd, IPA(key): /lɛnd/
  • Rhymes: -ɛnd

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