loan

(lōn)

noun

1. a. Something lent for temporary use.
   b. A sum of money lent at interest.
2. An act of lending; a grant for temporary use: asked for the loan of a garden hose.
3. A temporary transfer to a duty or place away from a regular job: an efficiency expert on loan from the main office.

transitive verb loaned, loan·ing, loans
Usage Problem

Related Forms:

• loanˈer noun

Usage Note: The verb loan is well established in American usage and cannot be considered incorrect. The frequent objections to the form by American grammarians may have originated from a provincial deference to British critics, who long ago labeled the usage a typical Americanism. Loan is, however, used to describe only physical transactions, as of money or goods; for figurative transactions, lend is correct: Distance lends enchantment. The allusions lend the work a classical tone.