lend.
To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
Meaning & usage
To allow to be used by someone temporarily, on condition that it or its equivalent will be returned.
I will only lend you my car if you fill up the tank.
Where is that hundred euros I lent you months ago?
To make a loan.
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.
To afford; to grant or furnish in general.
Can you lend me some assistance?
The famous director lent his name to the new film.
To borrow.
Where this word comes from
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.
Loan (permission to borrow (something)).
Where this word comes from
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.
The lumbar region; loin.
The loins; flank; buttocks.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English lende (usually in plural as lendes, leendes, lyndes), from Old English lendenu, lendino (“loins”), plural of Old English lenden (“loin”), from Proto-West Germanic *landī, from Proto-Germanic *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”), Danish lænd (“loin”), Icelandic lendar (“loins”), Latin lumbus (“loin”) (whence loin), Polish lędźwie (“loins”), Russian ля́двея (ljádveja, “thigh, haunch”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.