Rent Is a Payment and Also a Tear
Rent is money paid for use of property. A separate rent is a split or tear.
Rent is a payment for the use of property, and separately a tear or split, as in a rent in a garment. The payment comes from Latin *reddita*, things given back, through French — rent is what is rendered to the owner, and *render* is the same root. The tear is the past participle of *rend*, to tear violently, which is Old English. In economics, *rent* has a third technical sense: income earned from ownership rather than from work or production, giving the term *rent-seeking*.
- A payment. *Monthly rent.*
- A tear. *A rent in the cloth.*
- To hire. *Renting a flat.*
- Rend — to tear. *To rend.*
- Latin — *reddita*, given back. *The payment.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | rent | Rent. |
| Verb | rent | Renting. |
| Agent | tenant | A tenant. |
| Related | render | To render. |
| Related | rend | To rend. |
- The rent is due.Payment.
- A rent in the sail.Tear.
- Rent-seeking behaviour.Economics.
The reddere family
- Rent — what is rendered to an owner
- Render — to give back or give up
- Rendition — a giving back or performance
- Surrender — to give over entirely
- All from Latin *reddere*, to give back
The payment is Old French *rente*, from Latin *reddita*, things given back. The tear is the past participle of *rend*.
Are the two rents related?
No. One means a payment rendered to an owner; the other is the past participle of rend, to tear.
What is rent-seeking?
In economics, pursuing income from ownership or position rather than from producing anything new.