Past tense of loan; gave something to someone with the expectation that they would return it.
From Old Norse 'lán' (loan, gift) through Old English. The word originally meant a gift but evolved to mean a temporary loan that must be returned.
English has two words for borrowed money—'loan' (noun) and 'lend' (verb)—but many languages use just one word. Americans increasingly say 'loan' as a verb, which linguists call natural language change in progress.
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