prestar

Prestar is a verb in Spanish and Portuguese with several related meanings centered on giving, supplying, or performing something for another person. It comes from Latin praestare, meaning to furnish, render, or stand before, and has evolved in Romance languages to cover both lending and rendering actions as well as the completion of duties or services.

In Spanish, prestar most commonly means to lend something temporarily, such as money or objects: “Voy a prestarte mi libro” or “¿Me puedes prestar cien euros?” The verb also appears in fixed expressions, notably prestar atención (to pay attention) and prestar servicios (to render or provide services), as well as phrases like prestar ayuda (to offer help) or prestar juramento (to take or give an oath) in formal or legal contexts.

In Portuguese, prestar has a closely related range of uses. It means to provide or render something, for example, prestar um serviço (to render a service), prestar atenção (to pay attention), or prestar depoimento (to give a testimony). It can also appear in legal or formal settings as prestar juramento or prestar apoio (to offer support). The construction is transitive, typically requiring a direct object or a complement that specifies what is being provided or performed.

Etymology links these senses to the notion of furnishing, fulfilling, or presenting something to someone. Across both languages, the core idea is giving or carrying out an action on behalf of another, with nuances shaped by the surrounding phrases and formal versus informal registers. English equivalents include lend, provide, render, or pay attention, depending on the context.