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.
Bor"row, n. 1. Something
deposited as security; a pledge; a surety; a hostage. [Obs.]
Ye may retain as borrows my two priests.
Sir W. Scott.
2. The act of borrowing. [Obs.]
Of your royal presence I'll adventure
The borrow of a week.
Shak.