lend

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb bestow a quality on
  2. verb give temporarily; let have for a limited time
  3. verb have certain characteristics of qualities for something; be open or vulnerable to

Etymology

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.

In classic literature

Synonyms

impart, bestow, contribute, add, bring

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