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Origin and history of rent

rent(n.1)

[payment for use of property], mid-12c., in a legal sense, "compensation made periodically, with reference to time of possession and use of property," from Old French rente "payment due; profit, income" and Medieval Latin renta, both from Vulgar Latin *rendita, noun use of fem. past participle of *rendere "to render" (see render (v.)).

It came into English earlier in a more general, and now obsolete, sense of "income, revenue" (late Old English). The sense in political economy, "what is left from the produce of the soil after deducting what is necessary to support the producers, interest, seed-corn, etc.," is by 1815. Rent-free is attested from 1630s.

Rents (to think how much of evil there is in the two senses of that four-lettered word ! In the two methods of intonation of its synonym, Tear !) [Ruskin, "Fors Claveriga"]

also from mid-12c.

rent(n.2)

"torn place, opening made by rending or tearing," 1530s, noun use of Middle English renten "to tear, rend" (early 14c.), a variant of renden (see rend (v.)). Of clefts or fissures in the earth by 1702.

also from 1530s

rent(v.)

mid-15c., renten, "to rent out property, grant possession and enjoyment of in exchange for a consideration paid in the nature of rent," from Old French renter "pay dues to," or from rent (n.1). Related: Rented; renting.

Earlier (mid-14c.) it was used in the more general sense of "provide with revenue, endow with income." The sense of "to take and hold in exchange for rent" is from 1520s. The intransitive sense of "be leased for rent" is from 1784.

Prefix rent-a- is attested by 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.

also from mid-15c.

Entries linking to rent

rend(v.)

Middle English renden "tear a hole in, slash from top to bottom, separate in parts with force or sudden violence," from Old English rendan, hrendan "to tear, cut down," from Proto-West Germanic *rendan (source also of Old Frisian renda "to cut, break," Middle Low German rende "anything broken," German Rinde "bark, crust"), which is probably related to the noun source of rind. In Middle English also torenden. Related: Rended; rent; rending.

render(v.)

late 14c., rendren, rendre, "repeat, say again, recite; translate," from Old French rendre "give back, present, yield" (10c.) and Medieval Latin rendere, from Vulgar Latin *rendere, a variant of Latin reddere "give back, return, restore," from red- "back" (see re-) + combining form of dare "to give" (from PIE root *do- "to give").

The alteration in Vulgar Latin was perhaps simply nasalization or perhaps on analogy of its antonym, prendre "to take" (itself a contraction of prehendere). The irregular retention of -er in a French verb in English is perhaps to avoid confusion with native rend (v.) or by influence of a Middle English legalese noun render "a payment of rent," which is in part from French noun use of the infinitive.

The sense of "reduce," in reference to fats, "clarify by boiling or steaming" also is from late 14c. The meaning "hand over, yield up, deliver" is recorded from c. 1400; sense of "to return" (thanks, a verdict, etc.) is attested from late 15c., as is that of "make or cause to be) in a certain state; the meaning "represent, depict" is attested from 1590s. Related: Rendered; renderer; rendering. Also compare rendition, rent (n.1).