borrow

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈbɒr.əʊ/, US /ˈbɑːr.oʊ/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English borgian (“to lend, be surety for”) (about 950),^[2][3][4] from borg, a pledge or surety,^[2][3] from *burg- (“pledge”).^[3][2] Cognates are Old High German borgēn, to take heed, give surety (German borgen) and Old Norse borga, to become bail for;^[2][5][3] it is related to Old English beorgan, to save, preserve (see bury),^[2][4][5] from a root that Watkins gives as “to hide, protect”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old English the sense reversed to taking something on pledge or security, to return it later,^[3][4] apparently from the idea of collateral left as security for a thing borrowed.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, to adopt or take over something from another, is from the early 13th century,^[3] and taking a unit from the next column in subtraction from the 1590s.^[3] Borrowed time is from 1848.^[3] The noun borrow, a pledge or surety, was in use from Old English until about 1600 and now survives only in historical use.^[6] Borrower is from before 1415.^[2] Using borrow for lend is labelled not standard.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 950 – borgian.^[2]
• early 13th century – to adopt as one's own.^[3]
• before 1415 – borrower.^[2]
• 1590s – to borrow in subtraction.^[3]
• 1848 – borrowed time.^[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To take or receive something on loan, meaning to give it back.
2. To adopt and use an idea, word or method from another source.
3. In subtraction, to take a unit from the next higher place.
4. (golf) To putt to one side of the direct line to allow for a slope.

Word family

• borrower
• borrowable
• nonborrowing
• preborrowing
• unborrowing
• overborrow
• borrowed time

Related words

• bury
• borough
• burrow
• harbor
• lend

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins