rent

pronunciation

How to pronounce rent in British English: UK [rent] word uk audio image

How to pronounce rent in American English: US [rent] word us audio image

Noun:

a regular payment by a tenant to a landlord for use of some property
an opening made forcibly as by pulling apart
the return derived from cultivated land in excess of that derived from the poorest land cultivated under similar conditions
the act of rending or ripping or splitting something
Verb:

let for money
grant use or occupation of under a term of contract
engage for service under a term of contract
hold under a lease or rental agreement; of goods and services

Word Origin

rent: rent: English has two words rent. The one meaning ‘payment’ [12] comes via Old French rente from Vulgar Latin *rendita, a noun use of the feminine past participle of *rendere ‘give back’ (source of English render). Rent ‘tear, rift’ [16] comes from the verb rend [OE], which goes back to Old English rendan. Its ultimate antecedents are not known, although it may be related to Sanskrit rándhra- ‘split’.=> render

rent (n.1): "payment for use of property," mid-12c., a legal sense, originally "income, revenue" (late Old English), from Old French rente "payment due; profit, income," from Vulgar Latin *rendita, noun use of fem. past participle of rendere "to render" (see render (v.)).

rent (v.): mid-15c., "to rent out property, grant possession and enjoyment of in exchange for a consideration paid," from Old French renter "pay dues to," or from rent (n.1). Related: Rented; renting. Earlier (mid-14c.) in the more general sense of "provide with revenue." Sense of "to take and hold in exchange for rent" is from 1520s. Intransitive sense of "be leased for rent" is from 1784. Prefix rent-a- first attested 1921, mainly of businesses that rented various makes of car (Rentacar is a trademark registered in U.S. 1924); extended to other "temporary" uses since 1961.

rent (n.2): "torn place," 1530s, noun use of Middle English renten "to tear, rend" (early 14c.), variant of renden (see rend (v.)).