Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rent” come from?

Rent comes from Middle English rente, from Old French rente, from Vulgar Latin rendita, from Latin reddo meaning to give back or return, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wert-.

rent (English): A payment made by a tenant at intervals in order...

Definitions

  1. A payment made by a tenant at intervals in order...

Ancestry of “rent”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishrent—
2Old Frenchrenteincome
3Medieval Latinrendita—
4Latinrendō—
5Latinreddō—
6Latindō—
7Proto-Italicdidōgive
8Proto-Indo-Europeandédeh₃tito be giving
9Proto-Indo-Europeandeh₃-to give

Words derived from “rent”

  • rental
  • renter
  • rentable
  • quitrent
  • liferent
  • nonrental
  • unrent
  • liferenter
  • rentability
  • rerent
  • antirent
  • unrentable
  • rentor
  • liferentrix
  • rentee
  • antirentism
  • subrent
  • antirenter
  • overrent
  • nonrentable
  • renthouse
  • sub-renter
  • renterer
  • quasi-rent
Every word from Proto-Indo-European deh₃- →