loan
/loʊn/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.68 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A sum of money or other property that a natural or legal person borrows from another with the condition that it be returned or repaid over time or at a later date (sometimes with interest).
noun
The contract and array of legal or ethical obligations surrounding a loan.
noun
The permission to borrow any item.
Example Sentences
- "Because of the loan that John made to me, I was able to pay my tuition for the upcoming semester."
- "All loans from the library, whether books or audio material, must be returned within two weeks."
- "He got a loan of five thousand pounds."
- "That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired."
- "He made a payment on his loan."
- "Thank you for the loan of your lawn mower."
Etymology
From Middle English lone, lane, from Old Norse lán, from Proto-Germanic *laihną, from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- (“to leave (over)”). Cognate with Icelandic lán, Swedish lån, Danish lån, German Lehen (“fief”), Dutch leen (“fief”), West Frisian lien, North Frisian leen (“fief; loan; office”), Scots lane, lain, len, Old English lǣn. More at lend.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /loʊn/
- British English: /ləʊn/