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loan

1
[ lohn ]
/ loʊn /
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See synonyms for: loan / loaned on Thesaurus.com
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.
loanword.
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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Idioms about loan

    on loan,
    1. borrowed for temporary use: How many books can I have on loan from the library at one time?
    2. 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.

Origin of loan

1
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English noun lon(e), lan(e), Old English lān, from Old Norse lān; replacing its cognate, Old English lǣn “loan, grant,” cognate with Dutch leen “loan,” German Leh(e)n “fief”; cf. lend

usage note for loan

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.

OTHER WORDS FROM loan

un·loaned, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH loan

1. loan , lone2. borrow, lend, loan

Words nearby loan

loafer, loaf pan, loaf sugar, loaiasis, loam, loan, loanable, loanback, loanblend, loan collection, Loan Council

Other definitions for loan (2 of 2)

loan2
[ 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 nÉȘƋ/.

Origin of loan

2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English lane, lone, Old English lane, lane1

OTHER WORDS FROM loan

un·loan·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

Words related to loan

allowance, credit, investment, mortgage, lend, provide, accommodation, advance, extension, floater, trust, accommodate, allow, score, scratch, stake, touch, let out

How to use loan in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for loan (1 of 2)

loan1
/ (ləʊn) /
noun
the act of lendingthe loan of a car
  1. property lent, esp money lent at interest for a period of time
  2. (as modifier)loan holder
the adoption by speakers of one language of a form current in another language
short for loan word
on loan
  1. lent out; borrowed
  2. (esp of personnel) transferred from a regular post to a temporary one elsewhere
verb
to lend (something, esp money)

Derived forms of loan

loanable, 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)

loan2

loaning (ˈləʊnÉȘƋ)

/ (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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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