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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

borrowing en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈbɔrəwɪŋ/

Etymology

From borrow + -ing.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) An instance of something being borrowed.
    • January 1834, Horace Binney, Speech on the Question of the Removal of the Deposites Subscriptions, borrowings of money, taxings of the citizens and their property, may all be valid, as operations by virtue of laws for the government of the City […]
  2. (countable, uncountable) A borrowed word, adopted from a foreign language; loanword.
    • Whilst you would be forgiven for thinking this statement comes straight from the latest UKIP manifesto, it is in fact a quotation from The Anglish Moot, a fan-page promoting the use of the 'Anglish' language — that is, English with all foreign borrowings stripped away. 2017 March 25, Lili Bidwell, “Anglish: A Brexiteer’s lingua franca?”, in The Cambridge Student, archived from the original on 31 Jan 2021:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
borrowings Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

learned borrowing · semi-learned borrowing · borrowing card · reborrowing · false borrowing · pseudo-borrowing · semantic borrowing

borrowing en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • (US) audio
  • /ˈbɔrəwɪŋ/

Etymology

From borrow + -ing.

Meanings

  1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present) present participle and gerund of borrow
    form of borrow
    • She is borrowing my pen.
  2. (euphemistic, qualifier:crime, slang) Shoplifting.