From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
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.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Borrow \Bor"row\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Borrowed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Borrowing}.] [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}.]
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.
{To borrow trouble}, to be needlessly troubled; to be overapprehensive.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
verb
1: get temporarily; "May I borrow your lawn mower?" [ant: {lend}]
2: take up and practice as one's own [syn: {adopt}, {take over}, {take up}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
86 Moby Thesaurus words for "borrow": abstract, act like, adopt, affect, and, annex, appropriate, assume, bag, boost, bum, cadge, chorus, cop, copy, counterfeit, crib, defraud, discount, discount notes, ditto, do, do like, draw, echo, embezzle, extort, fake, filch, float a loan, forge, get a loan, get into debt, get on credit, go in debt, go in hock, go like, hit one for, hit up, hoke, hoke up, hook, imitate, infringe a copyright, lend, lift, make like, make off with, mirror, mooch, negotiate a loan, nip, obtain, palm, pawn, pilfer, pinch, pirate, plagiarize, plunge into debt, poach, purloin, raise money, reecho, refer to, reflect, repeat, run away with, run into debt, rustle, scrounge, shave, shoplift, show a deficit, simulate, snare, snatch, snitch, sponge, steal, swindle, swipe, take, thieve, touch, walk off with
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Borrow The Israelites "borrowed" from the Egyptians (Ex. 12:35, R.V., "asked") in accordance with a divine command (3:22; 11:2). But the word (sha'al) so rendered here means simply and always to "request" or "demand." The Hebrew had another word which is properly translated "borrow" in Deut. 28:12; Ps. 37:21. It was well known that the parting was final. The Egyptians were so anxious to get the Israelites away out of their land that "they let them have what they asked" (Ex. 12:36, R.V.), or literally "made them to ask," urged them to take whatever they desired and depart. (See {LOAN}.)
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0