Added 8 October 2026
lend
/ˈlɛnd/ verb
In Latin: commodō Wiktionary
verb Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about lend at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
Bestow a quality on.
Her presence lends a certain cachet to the company
-
Give temporarily; let have for a limited time.
I will lend you my car
-
Have certain characteristics of qualities for something; be open or vulnerable to.
This story would lend itself well to serialization on television
Origin
From earlier len (with excrescent -d, as in sound), from Middle English lenen, lænen, from Old English lǣnan (“to lend; give, grant, lease”), from Proto-West Germanic *laihnijan, 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”), Danish låne (“to lend, 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.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)