lend
v.v. to give something to someone for a short time, expecting them to give it back later.
v. to grant the temporary use of something on the condition that it or its equivalent will be returned. Transitive; often used in a double-object construction.
Can you lend me your pen for a second?
The bank agreed to lend the small business enough money to open a second location downtown.
While libraries primarily lend physical books, many have expanded their services to include digital lending of audiobooks and academic journals to reach a wider audience.
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.
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”).
The verb is transitive and often takes two objects: the person (indirect) and the thing (direct).
Can I lend your umbrella?Can I borrow your umbrella?Learners often confuse 'lend' (to give) with 'borrow' (to take).