Translation
to borrow
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Word origin
An Esperanto compound rather than a borrowing: prunte, on loan, plus preni, to take. The root prunt- came in with the Romance words for a loan, French pret and emprunter among them, which go back to Latin praestare, to furnish or provide.
- Origin
- Esperanto build on a Latin root
- Root
- prunte + preni
Examples
?
May I borrow your book?
.
He borrowed money from his father.
; .
They lend books out; we borrow them.
This is the mirror of , to lend, and the pair is the tidiest thing in the whole vocabulary of money. Prunte means on loan; bolt it to , to give, and you give on loan, which is lending; bolt it to , to take, and you take on loan, which is borrowing. Two verbs, one difference, and no chance of the muddle English speakers make when they say "lend me your book" and "borrow me a fiver".
The reason the compounds exist at all is that plain is ambiguous: it has been used for both directions since the early days, and context has to sort it out. In writing, or any time money is involved, spell out which way the thing is travelling. Note also that the compound keeps prunte with its adverbial -e inside the word, so the past is , never pruntoprenis.
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Esperanto · Free printables
pruntepreni: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "pruntepreni" (to borrow): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is taught in chapter 19, lesson 8: pruntepreni, reprezenti, transporti and 6 more words.