English
loan
Loan comes from Middle English lone, from Old Norse lán ‘loan’, from Proto-Germanic *laihną ‘that which is lent’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- ‘to leave’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leykʷ-1‘to leave’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laihną1‘that which is lent’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lán1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500lone1
- Englishearliest quotation 1820loan1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English loan
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1820, William King, Letters to James Monroe: President of the United States: “In the course of a correspondence that passed between…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leykʷ-Wiktionary, English loan‘to leave’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laihnąWiktionary, English loan‘that which is lent’reconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350lánWiktionary, English loan
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500loneWiktionary, English loan
- Englishearliest quotation 1820loanWiktionary, English loan. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1820, William King, Letters to James Monroe: President of the United States: “In the course of a correspondence that passed between…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- ‘to leave (over)’
relic, elliptical, delinquent, relinquish, delinquency, elliptic, ellipse, ecliptic, ellipsis, 12 more
through Proto-Germanic *laihną ‘that which is lent, loan’
Another origin of loan
- Scottish Gaelicmodernlòn‘marshy meadow’
- Englishtodayloan
Today it means
noun An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “loan”. 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 *leykʷ- / loan