# loan

> English word · Noun · IPA /ləʊn/ · frequency rank #2,118

## Definitions
1. An act or instance of lending, an act or instance of granting something for temporary use.
2. A sum of money or other property that a natural or legal person borrows from another with the condition that it be returned or repaid over time or at a later date (sometimes with interest).
3. The contract and array of legal or ethical obligations surrounding a loan.
4. The permission to borrow any item.

## Etymology
From Middle English lone, lane, from Old Norse lán, from Proto-Germanic *laihną, from Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ- (“to leave (over)”).
Cognate with Icelandic lán, Swedish lån, Danish lån, German Lehen (“fief”), Dutch leen (“fief”), West Frisian lien, North Frisian leen (“fief; loan; office”), Scots lane, lain, len, Old English lǣn. More at lend.

## Easily confused with
- **lot** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lot)
- **low** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-low)
- **lol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lol)
- **los** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-los)
- **log** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-log)
- **Lou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lou)
- **loo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-loo)
- **LOC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-loc)
- **Lon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lon)
- **lyn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lyn)
- **lob** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lob)
- **lor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lor)
- **lop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lop)
- **Lua** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lua)
- **lun** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lun)
- **Lod** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lod)
- **lox** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-lox)
- **loy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-loy)
- **Loh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-loh)
- **love** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/loan-vs-love)

## Common misspellings (5)
`laon`, `lloan`, `loann`, `lona`, `olan`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/loan