préstamo

Forms

préstamo m (plural préstamos)^[1] Old Spanish has prestamo, Latinised prestamum and prestamu in the charters, and the Aragonese diphthong in priestamo.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a noun from Spanish prestar (“to lend”): the DCECH lists it among the derivatives of the verb, and García de Diego and Le Men derive it from it.^[4][5][3][6] Wiktionary instead derives it from Late Latin praestamum.^[1] The DLE gives no etymology.^[7]

prestar is praestō (“to stand out; to vouch for; to provide”), from prae- (“before”) and stō (“to stand”).^[4][1][8] prest “soldier's daily pay” is a separate loan, from French prêt “loan”.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The DCECH's first record is a charter of about 1030 from Aranda, cited by Menéndez Pidal, in which a man gives land to his mother-in-law in prestamo.^[4] DEMel's earliest primary records are of 1048 (Oviedo) and 1056 (Santillana).^[2] In these early documents a préstamo was land or a benefice held on loan, often for life: in a donation of about 1218 an estate and its vassals are granted en prestamo por en uestros dias “on loan for your lifetime”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The old sense survived in church law: Alfonso X's Partidas allow a cleric to hold a church cuemo en prestamo “as a benefice”, and Nebrija glossed the derivative prestamera with Latin praebenda.^[10][4] Terreros (1786–1793) still gives préstamo as a prebend or pension on a parish that kept a boy at his studies.^[11] The DLE keeps it as an obsolete synonym of prestamera.^[7]

The sense “money lent” is in the General estoria of 1280.^[10] In the Academy's dictionary of 1899 préstamo was defined by empréstito, and préstamo a la gruesa was the maritime loan on a ship or cargo.^[12] The linguistic sense “loanword” is in the modern dictionaries.^[7][13]

Timeline

• c. 1030 – a charter from Aranda grants land in prestamo.^[4]
• 1048 – DEMel's first primary record, in a charter of San Vicente de Oviedo.^[2]
• c. 1218 – a donation grants vassals en prestamo for life.^[9]
• 1256–1300 – the Partidas use it for an ecclesiastical benefice.^[10]
• 1280 – the General estoria uses it for borrowed money.^[10]
• 1546 – first record in the Americas, in Puebla.^[14]
• 1786–1793 – Terreros records the sense “prebend”.^[11]
• 1899 – the Academy defines it as empréstito and enters préstamo a la gruesa.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of lending something to be given back: La biblioteca amplió el préstamo de libros a los domingos.^[7]
2. A loan: a sum of money requested, usually from a bank, to be repaid with interest.^[7][1]
3. A contract by which someone is bound to repay money lent to them.^[7]
4. (linguistics) A loanword or other element that one language takes from another.^[7][1]
5. (civil engineering) Land beside a road under construction from which earth is taken for fill.^[13]
6. (obsolete) A prestamera, a church benefice.^[7]

Word family

• prestamista
• prestamera

Related words

• prestar
• empréstito
• prestación
• Latin praestō

Usage notes

Préstamo a la gruesa is a bottomry loan, lost if the ship or goods are lost.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Diccionario del Español Medieval electrónico (DEMel), data publication 2026 (CC BY-SA), Universität Rostock, p. s.v. préstamo
3. ^ a b c García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. art. 5202
4. ^ a b c d e f Corominas, Joan; Pascual, José A. (1980–1991), Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico, 6 vols., Madrid: Gredos, p. 4, 646
5. ^ Corominas, Joan (1973), Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua castellana, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. prestar
6. ^ Le Men Loyer, Janick (2002–2012), Léxico del leonés actual, 4 vols., León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro; electronic version, Universidad de León, p. s.v. préstamo
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. préstamo
8. ^ Coromines, Joan (1980–2001), Diccionari etimològic i complementari de la llengua catalana, 10 vols., Barcelona: Curial / La Caixa (online ed., Institut d'Estudis Catalans 2024), p. 6, 800
9. ^ a b Real Academia Española (2013–), Corpus del Diccionario histórico de la lengua española (CDH), version 3.1, https://apps.rae.es/CNDHE, p. s.v. préstamo
10. ^ a b c d Kasten, Lloyd A.; Nitti, John J.; Gago Jover, Francisco (2002–), Diccionario de la prosa castellana del Rey Alfonso X, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies (electronic edition 2024), p. s.v. préstamo
11. ^ a b Terreros y Pando, Esteban de (1786–1793), Diccionario castellano con las voces de ciencias y artes y sus correspondientes de las tres lenguas francesa, latina e italiana, 4 vols., Madrid: Viuda de Ibarra, p. 3, 206
12. ^ a b Real Academia Española (1899), Diccionario de la lengua castellana, 13th ed., Madrid: Imprenta de los Sres. Hernando y Compañía, p. 809
13. ^ a b Moliner, María (2007), Diccionario de uso del español, 3rd ed., Madrid: Gredos, p. s.v. préstamo
14. ^ Boyd-Bowman, Peter (2003), Léxico hispanoamericano 1493–1993, ed. Ray Harris-Northall and John J. Nitti, New York: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, p. s.v. préstamo