In law, a contract where one party lends something to another for free, with the expectation that the borrower will return the same thing or an equivalent.
Latin noun form of commodare, meaning 'that which is lent.' This term remained in English legal terminology directly from Roman law.
Roman lawyers had five different contract types, and commodatum was special because it was one of the few contracts that could be made with no payment—pure generosity! It shows up in modern contract law textbooks.
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