prestado

Prestado is the past participle of the Spanish verb prestar, meaning to lend. In everyday use, prestado describes something that has been lent to someone or something that has been borrowed. It can function as an adjective, as in un libro prestado, meaning a book that has been lent, or as a predicate adjective, as in el coche es prestado.

Etymology and grammar: prestado derives from prestar, which itself comes from Latin praestare, to furnish or provide. As an adjective, prestado agrees with gender and number: libro prestado, libros prestados, idea prestada, ideas prestadas. It is also used with the auxiliary haber to form perfect tenses: he prestado, has prestado, ha prestado, hemos prestado, han prestado. In many contexts, prestado can be replaced by the noun préstamo or by phrases like en préstamo.

Usage and contexts: In daily language, prestado commonly refers to tangible objects borrowed or lent, such as libros, herramientas or coches, often through libraries, individuals, or institutions. In finance or economics, dinero prestado or capital prestado describes money that has been loaned by a lender to a borrower, typically under terms of interest and repayment. The term can appear in legal or contractual language to indicate items or funds temporarily transferred for use.

See also: Prestar, the verb meaning to lend; pedir prestado, to borrow; préstamo, the act or amount of lending or borrowed money; devolver, to return what was borrowed.

Prestado is a neutral, widely used term in Spanish to denote the state of belongings or funds that are temporarily provided by one party to another.