Borrow \Bor"row\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Borrowed; p. pr. & vb.
n. Borrowing.]
[OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh,
pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS.
beorgan to protect. ?95. See 1st Borough.]
1. To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or
expressed intention of returning the identical article or
its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend.
2. (Arith.) To take (one or more) from the next higher
denomination in order to add it to the next lower; -- a
term of subtraction when the figure of the subtrahend is
larger than the corresponding one of the minuend.
3. To copy or imitate; to adopt; as, to borrow the style,
manner, or opinions of another.
Rites borrowed from the ancients. --Macaulay.
It is not hard for any man, who hath a Bible in his
hands, to borrow good words and holy sayings in
abundance; but to make them his own is a work of
grace only from above. --Milton.
4. To feign or counterfeit. ``Borrowed hair.'' --Spenser.
The borrowed majesty of England. --Shak.
5. To receive; to take; to derive.
Any drop thou borrowedst from thy mother. --Shak.
To borrow trouble, to be needlessly troubled; to be
overapprehensive.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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