English
borrow
Borrow comes from Middle English borwen ‘to borrow money while depositing a security’, from Proto-Germanic *burgōną ‘to pledge, take care of’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰergʰ-1‘to take care’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgōną1‘to pledge, take care of’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*borgōn1‘to borrow, lend’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150borgian1‘to borrow, lend, pledge surety for’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500borwen1‘to borrow money while depositing a security’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590borrow1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English borrow
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto XII: “borrowed hair”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰergʰ-Wiktionary, English borrow‘to take care’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgōnąWiktionary, English borrow‘to pledge, take care of’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*borgōnWiktionary, English borrow‘to borrow, lend’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150borgianWiktionary, English borrow‘to borrow, lend, pledge surety for’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500borwenWiktionary, English borrow‘to borrow money while depositing a security’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590borrowWiktionary, English borrow. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto XII: “borrowed hair”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- ‘to take care’
Today it means
verb To receive (something) from somebody temporarily, expecting to return it.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “borrow”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- / borrow