borrow Meaning, Definition & Usage

Bor"row transitive verb

Etymology

OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. 95. See 1st Borough.

Wordforms

imperfect & past participle Borrowed present participle & verbal noun Borrowing

Definitions

1. To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend.
2. (Arith.) To take (one or more) from the next higher denomination in order to add it to the next lower; -- a term of subtraction when the figure of the subtrahend is larger than the corresponding one of the minuend.
3. To copy or imitate; to adopt; as, to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another.

   Rites borrowed from the ancients. Macaulay.

   It is not hard for any man, who hath a Bible in his hands, to borrow good words and holy sayings in abundance; but to make them his own is a work of grace only from above. Milton.

4. To feign or counterfeit. "Borrowed hair." Spenser.

   The borrowed majesty of England. Shak.

5. To receive; to take; to derive.

   Any drop thou borrowedst from thy mother. Shak.

Bor"row noun

Definitions

1. Something deposited as security; a pledge; a surety; a hostage. Obs.

   Ye may retain as borrows my two priests. Sir W. Scott.

2. The act of borrowing. Obs.

   Of your royal presence I'll adventure The borrow of a week. Shak.