# "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:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/81 "2007-10-19T15:24:43Z")
I love it when she mends. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/82 "2007-10-19T16:09:19Z")
I guess some people here would have a fit if they knew that, in the vernacular of many of my pupils, I ‘learn them the violin’. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/83 "2007-10-19T17:27:55Z")
Just out of curiosity, is there a difference in which you would expect to be paid back, or which would be paid back soonest? Could you loan me $3? Could you lend me $3? Could you loan me a pencil? Could you lend me a pencil? Or would they be the same? Personally, I’d find ‘loan me a pencil’ to sound a little odd. And I’d never say loan me your car. In fact, rather than lend, I’d probably ask if I could borrow it. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/84 "2007-10-19T18:21:00Z")
[QUOTE=Revtim] 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. [/QUOTE] My (recent) dictionary (Merriam-Webster) defines loan as a noun, money lent at interest or something lent for the borrower’s temporary use or the grant of temporary use. All of those are nouns. It gives the other “perfectly proper” definition this way: 2. loan vb : LEND That looks to me like a capitulation to usage. I really don’t know how far back you would have to go to find a dictionary without that number 2 definition, but I’m pretty sure one could be found. When’s the last time you heard somebody say, “Please loan me a hand?” Hang in there, BrainGlutton! I will (oops!) shall not desert you! Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. He’s just being argumentative! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/85 "2007-10-19T19:16:37Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] MyThat looks to me like a capitulation to usage. I really don’t know how far back you would have to go to find a dictionary without that number 2 definition, but I’m pretty sure one could be found. [/QUOTE] Then by all means find one. It’s your claim, so you have to find the cite. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/86 "2007-10-19T19:22:44Z")
I think a lot of folks here have a number 2 definition of the word. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/87 "2007-10-19T19:29:57Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] I do. Sometimes I like my writing to be exactly representative of the way I speak, and I definitely say that. [/QUOTE] I’d’ve never said that. At least not verbly. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/88 "2007-10-19T22:54:41Z")
[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] Oxford English Dictionary Online Presently, adv. \*1. a. Without delay; at once, forthwith, immediately; instantly; quickly, promptly \*, Now Brit. regional and rare. \*2. b. In a little while, before long, soon. Now the usual sense. The development of this sense from 1a was so imperceptible, that early examples, esp. before c1650, are dubious. \* In Shakespeare most if not all occurrences of the word are in the earlier sense. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/89 "2007-10-19T23:19:00Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] Hang in there, BrainGlutton! I will (oops!) shall not desert you! [/QUOTE] So you have no intention of standing with him, but you are going to do it some time in the future, regardless of your intent? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/90 "2007-10-19T23:29:33Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] That looks to me like a capitulation to usage. I really don’t know how far back you would have to go to find a dictionary without that number 2 definition, but I’m pretty sure one could be found. [/QUOTE] Good luck with that. The usage being railed against in the OP predates the first English-language dictionary by about a century. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/91 "2007-10-20T08:02:05Z")
[QUOTE=TheLoadedDog] I thought the verb was “borrie”, as in “Can y’ borrie me a dollar?” Maybe I’ve spent too much time in the mountains. 😃 [/QUOTE] I used to work with a guy that used to ask “Can you borrow me a fiver?” No I can’t you ignorant twat, not until you learn to ask me if I can LEND you a fiver. Then it’s still no 'cos I’ll never see it again ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/92 "2007-10-20T08:28:42Z")
The Online Etymology Dictionary on [loan](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=loan): > [@](#): > > c.1240, from O.N.[sup]1[/sup] lan, related to lja “to lend,” from P.Gmc.[sup]2[/sup] \*laikhwniz (cf. O.H.G.[sup]3[/sup] lihan “to borrow,” Ger. leihen, Goth. leihan “to lend”), originally “to let have, to leave (to someone),” from PIE[sup]4[/sup] \*leikw- (see relinquish). The O.N. word also is cognate with O.E.[sup]5[/sup] læn “gift,” which did not survive into M.E.[sup]6[/sup], but its derived verb lænan is the source of lend (q.v.). As a verb, loan is attested from 1625 and was formerly current, but has now been supplanted in England by lend, though it survives in Amer.Eng. [sup]1[/sup]Old Norse [sup]2[/sup]Proto-Germanic [sup]3[/sup]Old High German [sup]4[/sup]Proto-Indo-European [sup]5[/sup]Old English [sup]6[/sup]Middle English ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/93 "2007-10-20T20:08:32Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] My (recent) dictionary (Merriam-Webster) defines loan as a noun, money lent at interest or something lent for the borrower’s temporary use or the grant of temporary use. All of those are nouns. It gives the other “perfectly proper” definition this way: 2. loan vb : LEND That looks to me like a capitulation to usage. [/QUOTE] How do you figure? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/94 "2007-10-20T20:29:45Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] That looks to me like a capitulation to usage. [/QUOTE] A capitulation to usage? How else do you think words are defined? Words mean what they mean because that’s how people use them. The entire dictionary is a capitulation to usage. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2007, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/95 "2007-10-21T15:09:30Z")
That one made me grend. ---
**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:** [October 21, 2007, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/96 "2007-10-21T15:12:22Z")
**grends** ---
**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 21, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/97 "2007-10-21T16:10:04Z")
[QUOTE=Largo62] My (recent) dictionary (Merriam-Webster) defines loan as a noun, money lent at interest or something lent for the borrower’s temporary use or the grant of temporary use. All of those are nouns. It gives the other “perfectly proper” definition this way: 2. loan vb : LEND That looks to me like a capitulation to usage. [/QUOTE] How so? Is it in some kind Capitulation font? Or is there a footnote in your dictionary that states all definitions with a “2” in front of them are capitulations to the lowly gruntings of the commoners, unlike the “1” definitions which were carved into a marble slab by the burning wang of the God Of Definitions as he sat on his throne on Mt Olympus? Even ignoring the little fact that the whole goddamn dictionary is a “capitulation to usage” as **fachverwirrt** helpfully points out, this is quite a bizarre argument. It’s funny that even on an issue as cut and dry as this, when every single reference on Earth agrees that the verb usage is 100 percent correct, some folks still cannot admit being simply mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2007, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244/98 "2007-10-22T09:43:34Z")
Fuck you and [your attitude](http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/001652.html), OP. Come back when someone dies and makes you the King of the English Language. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/loan-is-not-a-verb-dammit-loan-is-a-noun-lend-is-a-verb/420244.md?page=4)