# "Loan" is not a verb, dammit! "Loan" is a noun! "Lend" is a verb! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 24, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244 "2007-09-24T00:45:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/61 "2007-09-25T12:27:57Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I also get bugged by “presently” being used to mean “now” rather than “soon.” Even the anchors on _All Things Considered_ make that mistake, frequently. [/QUOTE] This is not a mistake. It’s standard usage. And the older of the two meanings, in fact. ---
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/62 "2007-09-25T12:54:33Z")
“Spit” used where “spat” should be. It annoys me, but thankfully it seems to be just americans that do it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/63 "2007-09-25T13:08:43Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] “Spit” used where “spat” should be. It annoys me, but thankfully it seems to be just americans that do it. [/QUOTE] Naah, you hear it in Australia too. There are a whole host of things like this that are associated with a certain socio-economic group (things like “I seen” for “I saw” and “I never done nothing” for “I didn’t do anything”) - I don’t like them much, but they don’t _really_ bother me. It’s the shit like “gifted” for “given” and “birthed” for “born” that gets my goat. That shit is people who know better just… well, just being wankers, frankly. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/64 "2007-09-25T13:38:14Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] “Spit” used where “spat” should be. It annoys me, but thankfully it seems to be just americans that do it. [/QUOTE] Indeed, “spit” is standard usage for the past of “spit” in the USA. “Spat” is not unacceptable though. [QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] It’s the shit like “gifted” for “given” and “birthed” for “born” that gets my goat. That shit is people who know better just… well, just being wankers, frankly. [/QUOTE] Doesn’t “gifted” just mean “given as a gift.” I’m not sure what the complaint is exactly; they don’t mean the same thing. “Birthed” is definitely a newer regional thing, but it’s older than my grandparents, and it doesn’t mean “born”, but “gave birth to” , as I’ve always heard it. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/65 "2007-09-25T13:43:37Z")
[QUOTE=Ruken] Doesn’t “gifted” just mean “given as a gift.” I’m not sure what the complaint is exactly; they don’t mean the same thing. “Birthed” is definitely a newer regional thing, but it’s older than my grandparents, and it doesn’t mean “born”, but “gave birth to” , as I’ve always heard it. [/QUOTE] The way I hear it (especially on these boards), it just means “given”: “I was gifted a _thing_” = “I was given a _thing_” There’s a perfectly good word already there, and rightly or wrongly, I just get the impression that the “gifted” usage is an atrempt to make the thing more important or profound that it should be - they wouldn’t say _I was “gifted” a hamburger_, for example. I think it’s a wank. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/66 "2007-09-25T13:56:22Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] It’s the shit like “gifted” for “given” and “birthed” for “born” that gets my goat. That shit is people who know better just… well, just being wankers, frankly. [/QUOTE] When did the transitive verb form of “gift” become controversial? It sounds a little archaic and pretentious, but it’s perfectly acceptable grammar. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/67 "2007-09-25T22:25:22Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] “Spit” used where “spat” should be. It annoys me, but thankfully it seems to be just americans that do it. [/QUOTE] Never been to Asia huh? ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/68 "2007-09-27T01:31:51Z")
[QUOTE=fachverwirrt] The OED includes cites of “loan” as a verb going back to 1640 in its current spelling, and back to 1200 in various alternate spellings. I think this one is well and truly lost. [/QUOTE] I don’t know if it was ever really found, to be honest. [QUOTE=RickJay] Are people just not reading past the OP, and missing the parts where other posters gently point out that “loan” has been a verb since before the days of William Shakespeare? [/QUOTE] Seems like it’s been a verb since before Chaucer, actually, back in the heady days of Middle English. That’s 8/10ths of a millennium. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/69 "2007-09-27T01:46:58Z")
[QUOTE=Tengu] This is not a mistake. It’s standard usage. And the older of the two meanings, in fact. [/QUOTE] Poor **BrainGlutton**. I think he should give up on the grammar rants now and stick to Bush. At least he’s usually right in those. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/70 "2007-09-27T16:44:29Z")
**BrainGlutton** , are you ever going to address the fact that your statement that “loan” isn’t a verb has been shown to be completely wrong, by both descriptive and prescriptive standards? You see now that you were mistaken, right? ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/71 "2007-09-27T18:02:20Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] **BrainGlutton** , are you ever going to address the fact that your statement that “loan” isn’t a verb has been shown to be completely wrong, by both descriptive and prescriptive standards? You see now that you were mistaken, right? [/QUOTE] Oh, sure. That’s how it’s used. That’s how it’s always been used. But… [whine]He doesn’t liiiiiiike iiiiiiiiiiiiitt!!![\whine] Have you not seen these grammar rants before? It just doesn’t fucking matter to these people how language actually works. If some aspect of it displeases them, they are going to whine. “How DARE people speak like their speech communities! Why don’t they speak like I want them to?” Yes, the usage the OP dislikes is the older meaning, but that argument shouldn’t be necessary. If the people he is referring to are following the rules of their speech community, then who the fuck is he to say that they are ‘misusing’ the language? And, yes, I do even mean things like pronouncing ‘ask’ as ‘aks’. (Oh, and just for the fun of it: It seems that ‘aks’ may be the _older_ pronunciation!) ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/72 "2007-09-27T18:08:06Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] **BrainGlutton** , are you ever going to address the fact that your statement that “loan” isn’t a verb has been shown to be completely wrong, by both descriptive and prescriptive standards? You see now that you were mistaken, right? [/QUOTE] Remember last year when \*\*Clothahump \*\* made several ill-advised ops in the pit that were shown to be dead wrong very quickly? Well \*\*BG \*\* just pulled a **Clothahump**. 😉 No need for him to show back up to acknowledge it. He is probably hoping the thread will just sink away. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/73 "2007-09-27T18:21:38Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] I also get bugged by “presently” being used to mean “now” rather than “soon.” Even the anchors on _All Things Considered_ make that mistake, frequently. [/QUOTE] Instead of “presently” for “soon,” since people seem to have forgotten it anyway, maybe we should go back to “anon,” and let “presently” mean right now. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/74 "2007-09-27T18:35:13Z")
You may as well resign yourself, Brain Glutton. Some time ago when I was known on these fora (forums?) as DesertGeezer, I complained about the poor usage of language by news anchors, because I said they should be the stewards of the language. They are, after all, the example that most people follow. I saw myself as a defender of proper usage and a beacon to youth, who could still be taught to speak “properly.” But I was set upon by an army of Dopers who called me a “grammar Nazi.” “The language is ever-changing,” said they. “You can’t buck common usage.” I guess they were right. Hell, even I sometimes use prepositions to end a sentence with. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/75 "2007-09-27T21:18:48Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] You may as well resign yourself, Brain Glutton. Some time ago when I was known on these fora (forums?) as DesertGeezer, I complained about the poor usage of language by news anchors, because I said they should be the stewards of the language. They are, after all, the example that most people follow. I saw myself as a defender of proper usage and a beacon to youth, who could still be taught to speak “properly.” But I was set upon by an army of Dopers who called me a “grammar Nazi.” “The language is ever-changing,” said they. “You can’t buck common usage.” I guess they were right. Hell, even I sometimes use prepositions to end a sentence with. 😉 [/QUOTE] This has nothing to do with what the OP complained about, using “loan” as a verb, which is proper usage by any standard. Nobody is arguing it’s OK because it’s used a lot - the word is simply also a verb, as described by every reference anybody in this thread referred to. He was not defending proper use, he was wrongly describing a perfectly proper use as incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@Jamaika\_a\_jamaikaiake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamaika_a_jamaikaiake)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2007, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/76 "2007-09-30T02:00:00Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] **BrainGlutton** , are you ever going to address the fact that your statement that “loan” isn’t a verb has been shown to be completely wrong, by both descriptive and prescriptive standards? You see now that you were mistaken, right? [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=What Exit?] No need for him to show back up to acknowledge it. He is probably hoping the thread will just sink away. Jim [/QUOTE] Yeah, how’s that going? ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/77 "2007-10-01T01:26:25Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] Actually, I find the drift to “there’s” rather interesting in that it directly parallels the Spanish _hay_ which is used in both the singular and plural. (“There’s” is also not a recent development. We got away using “there’s” as a translation in Spanish class for both the singular and plural over 35 years ago, and we used it because it was so prevalent in our normal conversation.) [/QUOTE] You mean “hay” used to be correct for the singular only? What was the plural then? Hayan? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/78 "2007-10-01T12:46:59Z")
[QUOTE=Jamaika a jamaikaiaké] Yeah, how’s that going? [/QUOTE] Probably not as well as hoped. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2007, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/79 "2007-10-01T13:07:12Z")
[QUOTE=TJdude825] You mean “hay” used to be correct for the singular only? What was the plural then? Hayan? [/QUOTE] No. I meant that when I encountered Spanish, _hay_ was both singular and plural. I have no idea what the etymological development might have been. I am simply noting that “there’s” seems to have taken the same sort of position in English, being widely used as both singular and plural, and I note that that development occurred at least 40 years ago (and may easily be older). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/80 "2007-10-19T15:15:38Z")
So, “loan” is still a perfectly valid verb, right? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244.md?page=5)