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Webster 1913 Edition

Borrow

Bor′row

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Borrowed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Borrowing
.]
[OE.
borwen
, AS.
borgian
, fr.
borg
,
borh
, pledge; akin to D.
borg
, G.
borg
; prob. fr. root of AS.
beorgan
to protect. [GREEK]95. See 1st
Borough
.]
1.
To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; – the opposite of lend.
2.
(Arith.)
To take (one or more) from the next higher denomination in order to add it to the next lower; – a term of subtraction when the figure of the subtrahend is larger than the corresponding one of the minuend.
3.
To copy or imitate; to adopt;
as, to
borrow
the style, manner, or opinions of another
.
Rites
borrowed
from the ancients.
Macaulay.
It is not hard for any man, who hath a Bible in his hands, to
borrow
good words and holy sayings in abundance; but to make them his own is a work of grace only from above.
Milton.
4.
To feign or counterfeit.
“Borrowed hair.”
Spenser.
The
borrowed
majesty of England.
Shakespeare
5.
To receive; to take; to derive.
Any drop thou
borrowedst
from thy mother.
Shakespeare
To borrow trouble
,
to be needlessly troubled; to be overapprehensive.

Bor′row

,
Noun.
1.
Something deposited as security; a pledge; a surety; a hostage.
[Obs.]
Ye may retain as
borrows
my two priests.
Sir W. Scott.
2.
The act of borrowing.
[Obs.]
Of your royal presence I’ll adventure
The
borrow
of a week.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Borrow

BOR'ROW

, v.t.
1.
To take from another by request and consent, with a view to use the thing taken for a time, and return it, or if the thing taken is to be consumed or transferred in the use, then to return an equivalent in kind; as, to borrow a book, a sum of money,or a loaf of bread. It is opposed to lend.
2.
To take from another, for one's own use; to copy or select from the writings of another author; as, to borrow a passage from a printed book; to borrow a title.
3.
To take or adopt for one's own use, sentiments, principles, doctrines and the like; as, to borrow instruction.
4.
To take for use something that belongs to another; to assume, copy or imitate; as, to borrow a shape; to borrow the manners of another, or his style of writing.

BOR'ROW

,
Noun.
A borrowing; the act of borrowing. [Not used.]
But of your royal presence I'll adventure.
The borrow of a week.

Definition 2024

Borrow

Borrow

See also: borrow

English

Proper noun

Borrow

  1. A surname​.
    George Borrow wrote novels and travelogues based on his experiences travelling around Europe.

borrow

borrow

See also: Borrow

English

Alternative forms

  • boro (Jamaican English)

Verb

borrow ‎(third-person singular simple present borrows, present participle borrowing, simple past and past participle borrowed)

  1. To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.
    • 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.
  2. To adopt (an idea) as one's own.
    to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another
    • Macaulay
      rites borrowed from the ancients
    • Milton
      It is not hard for any man, who hath a Bible in his hands, to borrow good words and holy sayings in abundance; but to make them his own is a work of grace only from above.
  3. (linguistics) To adopt a word from another language.
  4. (arithmetic) In a subtraction, to deduct (one) from a digit of the minuend and add ten to the following digit, in order that the subtraction of a larger digit in the subtrahend from the digit in the minuend to which ten is added gives a positive result.
  5. (proscribed) To lend.
    • 1951, The Grenadiers, James P. Leary, editor, Wisconsin Folklore, University of Wisconsin Press, published 1998, ISBN 9780299160340, Milwaukee Talk, page 56:
      “Rosie, borrow me your look looker, I bet my lips are all. Everytime I eat or drink, so quick I gotta fix ’em, yet.”
    • 2005, Gladys Blyth, Summer at the Cannery, Trafford Publishing, ISBN 9781412025362, page 83:
      “Ryan, borrow me your lunch pail so we can fill it with blueberries. Susie can make us a pie.”
    • 2006, Andrés Rueda, The Clawback, Andres Rueda, ISBN 9781419647680, Chapter 13, page 131:
      Georgi reached for his empty pockets. “Can you borrow me your telephone?”
    • 2007, Silvia Cecchini, Bach Flowers Fairytales, Lulu.com, ISBN 9781847533203, page 7:
      “Gaia, could you borrow me your pencils ,[sic] today, if you do not use them?”
  6. (double transitive) To temporarily obtain (something) for (someone).
    • 1681,, “Trial of Sir Miles Stapleton”, in State Trials, 33 Charles II, page 516:
      Yes, my lord, he told me this in my own house; and I told him he might go to esquire Tindal, and I lent him eighteen pence, and borrowed him a horse in the town.
    • 1866 April 20, Charles W. G. Howard, “Minutes of Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee”, in parliamentary debates, House of Commons, page 84:
      I went out and borrowed him a night cap ; put him my night shirt on, and wrapped him in a blanket.
    • 1999 August 1, “Ronnie Dawson, Singer, Comments on his Career and Music”, in NPR_Weekend:
      My folks couldn't afford a guitar, so my dad borrowed me a mandolin one time, and I was just learning to play it pretty good and the guy that he borrowed it from wanted it back.
    • 2006, Laurie Graham, Gone with the Windsors, page 116:
      George Lightfoot seemed to have forgotten he was meant to be a Lost Sheep, and turned up as the Tin Man, but I forgave him, because he'd managed to borrow me a divine brass crazier from one of his bishop friends.
  7. To feign or counterfeit.
    • Spenser
      borrowed hair
    • Shakespeare
      the borrowed majesty of England
Synonyms
Antonyms
  • (receive temporarily): give back (exchanging the transfer of ownership), lend (exchanging the owners), return (exchanging the transfer of ownership)
  • (in arithmetic): carry (the equivalent reverse procedure in the inverse operation of addition)
Derived terms
Translations

Noun

borrow ‎(plural borrows)

  1. (golf) Deviation of the path of a rolling ball from a straight line; slope; slant.
    This putt has a big left-to right borrow on it.
Translations

Etymology 2

From Old English borg, from Proto-Germanic (related to Etymology 1, above).

Noun

borrow ‎(plural borrows)

  1. (archaic) A ransom; a pledge or guarantee.
  2. (archaic) A surety; someone standing bail.
    • 1819, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:
      ”where am I to find such a sum? If I sell the very pyx and candlesticks on the altar at Jorvaulx, I shall scarce raise the half; and it will be necessary for that purpose that I go to Jorvaulx myself; ye may retain as borrows my two priests.”

Etymology

From Middle English borwen, borȝien, Old English borgian ‎(“to borrow, lend, pledge surety for”), from Proto-Germanic *burgōną ‎(“to pledge, take care of”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- ‎(“to take care”). Cognate with Dutch borgen ‎(“to borrow, trust”), German borgen ‎(“to borrow, lend”), Danish borge ‎(“to vouch”). Related to Old English beorgan ‎(“to save, preserve”). More at bury.

Pronunciation

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