loan
1[ lohn ]
/ loʊn /
noun
the act of lending; a grant of the temporary use of something: the loan of a book.
something lent or furnished on condition of being returned, especially a sum of money lent at interest: a $1000 loan at 10 percent interest.
verb (used with object)
to make a loan of; lend: Will you loan me your umbrella?
to lend (money) at interest.
verb (used without object)
to make a loan or loans; lend.
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Nearby words
Idioms
- borrowed for temporary use: How many books can I have on loan from the library at one time?
- temporarily provided or released by one's regular employer, superior, or owner for use by another: Our best actor is on loan to another movie studio for two films.
on loan,
Origin of loan
11150–1200; Middle English lon(e), lan(e) (noun), Old English lān < Old Norse lān; replacing its cognate, Old English lǣn loan, grant, cognate with Dutch leen loan, German Leh(e)n fief; cf. lend
Related formsun·loaned, adjective
Usage note
Sometimes mistakenly identified as an Americanism, loan1 as a verb meaning “to lend” has been used in English for nearly 800 years: Nearby villages loaned clothing and other supplies to the flood-ravaged town. The occasional objections to loan as a verb referring to things other than money, are comparatively recent. Loan is standard in all contexts but is perhaps most common in financial ones: The government has loaned money to farmers to purchase seed.
Definition for loan (2 of 2)
loan
2[ lohn ]
/ loʊn /
noun Scot.
a country lane; secondary road.
an uncultivated plot of farmland, usually used for milking cows.
Also loan·ing [loh-ning] /ˈloʊ nɪŋ/.
Origin of loan
2Related formsun·loan·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for loan
British Dictionary definitions for loan (1 of 2)
loan
1/ (ləʊn) /
noun
the act of lendingthe loan of a car
- property lent, esp money lent at interest for a period of time
- (as modifier)loan holder
the adoption by speakers of one language of a form current in another language
short for loan word
on loan
- lent out; borrowed
- (esp of personnel) transferred from a regular post to a temporary one elsewhere
verb
to lend (something, esp money)
Derived Formsloanable, adjectiveloaner, noun
Word Origin for loan
C13 loon, lan, from Old Norse lān; related to Old English lǣn loan; compare German Lehen fief, Lohn wages
British Dictionary definitions for loan (2 of 2)
loan
2loaning (ˈləʊnɪŋ)
/ (ləʊn) /
noun Scot and Northern English dialect
a lane
a place where cows are milked
Word Origin for loan
Old English lone, variant of lane 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for loan
loan
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper