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borrowing

[bor-oh-ing, bawr-]
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noun
  1. the act of one who borrows.
  2. the process by which something, as a word or custom, is adopted or absorbed.
  3. the result of such a process; something borrowed, as a foreign word or phrase or a custom.
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Origin of borrowing

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at borrow, -ing1
Related formsnon·bor·row·ing, adjectivepre·bor·row·ing, nounun·bor·row·ing, adjective

borrow

[bor-oh, bawr-oh]
verb (used with object)
  1. to take or obtain with the promise to return the same or an equivalent: Our neighbor borrowed my lawn mower.
  2. to use, appropriate, or introduce from another source or from a foreign source: to borrow an idea from the opposition; to borrow a word from French.
  3. Arithmetic. (in subtraction) to take from one denomination and add to the next lower.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to borrow something: Don't borrow unless you intend to repay.
  2. Nautical.
    1. to sail close to the wind; luff.
    2. to sail close to the shore.
  3. Golf. to putt on other than a direct line from the lie of the ball to the hole, to compensate for the incline or roll of the green.
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Idioms
  1. borrow trouble, to do something that is unnecessary and may cause future harm or inconvenience.
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Origin of borrow

before 900; Middle English borowen, Old English borgian to borrow, lend, derivative of borg a pledge; akin to Dutch borg a pledge, borgen to charge, give credit, German Borg credit, borgen to take on credit
Related formsbor·row·a·ble, adjectivebor·row·er, nounnon·bor·rowed, adjectivenon·bor·row·er, nouno·ver·bor·row, verbun·bor·rowed, adjective
Can be confusedborrow lend loan

Synonyms

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2. acquire, take, get; copy, pirate, plagiarize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

financing

Examples from the Web for borrowing

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for borrowing

borrow

verb
  1. to obtain or receive (something, such as money) on loan for temporary use, intending to give it, or something equivalent or identical, back to the lender
  2. to adopt (ideas, words, etc) from another source; appropriate
  3. not standard to lend
  4. golf to putt the ball uphill of the direct path to the hole
  5. (intr) golf (of a ball) to deviate from a straight path because of the slope of the ground
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noun
  1. golf a deviation of a ball from a straight path because of the slope of the grounda left borrow
  2. material dug from a borrow pit to provide fill at another
  3. living on borrowed time
    1. living an unexpected extension of life
    2. close to death
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Derived Formsborrower, noun

Word Origin

Old English borgian; related to Old High German borgēn to take heed, give security

usage

The use of off after borrow was formerly considered incorrect, but is now acceptable in informal contexts

Borrow

noun
  1. George (Henry). 1803–81, English traveller and writer. His best-known works are the semiautobiographical novels of Gypsy life and language, Lavengro (1851) and its sequel The Romany Rye (1857)
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for borrowing

borrow

v.

Old English borgian "to lend, be surety for," from Proto-Germanic *borg "pledge" (cf. Old English borg "pledge, security, bail, debt," Old Norse borga "to become bail for, guarantee," Middle Dutch borghen "to protect, guarantee," Old High German boragen "to beware of," German borgen "to borrow; to lend"), from PIE *bhergh- "to hide, protect" (see bury). Sense shifted in Old English to "borrow," apparently on the notion of collateral deposited as security for something borrowed. Related: Borrowed; borrowing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with borrowing

borrow

In addition to the idiom beginning with borrow

  • borrow trouble

also see:

  • beg, borrow, or steal
  • on borrowed time
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.