prestar

From Latin praestāre.

• IPA^(key): /pɾesˈtaɾ/ [pɾes̪ˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: pres‧tar

prestar (first-person singular indicative present presto, past participle prestáu)

1. to be pleasing, to be liked, to be good

   La película prestóme muncho. ― I really liked the film.

2. (somewhat archaic) be used, be of use (something)

   Synonyms: valir, facer manxar d'ún

   Esti reló yá nun presta pa nada.

   This clock is useless now.

3. to help (in tasks), be of use (someone)

   Synonym: ayudar

4. (reflexive) to offer oneself as volunteer (for a job...)

   Siempre se presta’l primeru pa facer los recaos.

   He always offers [himself] to run errands first.

5. (reflexive) to be apt (someone, for a task...)
6. (reflexive) to be skilful, be good at

   Préstase pal teatru.

   He is good at theater.

• prestosu
• preste
• prestía
• prestíu
• prestamosu
• que preste
• que te preste
• prestar pola vida
• siempre ta la cesta onde nun presta

• emprestar

• Xosé Lluis García Arias (2002–2004), “prestar”, in Diccionario general de la lengua asturiana [General Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Spanish), Editorial Prensa Asturiana, →ISBN
• “prestar”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1ª edición, Academia de la Llingua Asturiana, 2000, →ISBN

Inherited from Old Catalan prestar, from Latin praestāre.

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [pɾəsˈta]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [pɾesˈtaɾ]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Homophone: prestà
• Rhymes: -a(ɾ)

prestar (first-person singular present presto, first-person singular preterite prestí, past participle prestat); root stress: (Central, Valencia, Balearic) /e/

1. (transitive, pronominal) to loan; to lend

• prestatari

• prestació
• prestador
• préstec

• “prestar”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “prestar”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “prestar” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “prestar” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

From Old Galician-Portuguese prestar (13th century, Cantigas de Santa Maria), from Latin praestāre.

• IPA^(key): /pɾesˈtaɾ/ [pɾes̺ˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Hyphenation: pres‧tar

prestar (first-person singular present presto, first-person singular preterite prestei, past participle prestado)

1. (transitive) to loan, to lend
   • 1362, María del Carmen Sánchez Carrera (ed.), El Bajo Miño en el siglo XV. El espacio y los hombres. A Coruña: Fundación Barrié de la Maza, page 359:

     que non posades vender nen sopenorar nen aforar nen alear nen prestar por tenpo ne por tenpos a dita casa

     you should not sell, or pawn, or contract, or cede, or lend for a time, or at times, the aforementioned house

   Synonyms: deixar, emprestar

2. (transitive) to render, provide, offer (a service, help etc.)
3. (transitive) to pay (attention, respect etc.)
4. (intransitive) to be useful, suitable, or enjoyable
   • 1409, José Luis Pensado Tomé, editor, Tratado de Albeitaria, page 107:

     soe prestar ao Cauallo que ten a cabeça fria pazer a miude eruas peqenas et tenras porque en mergendo a cabeça et tirando as eruas con os dentes, deçen da cabeça a moor parte dos homores porllos nares para fora

     it is usually useful, for the horse that have its head cold, to graze frequently tender and young grasses, because as it lowers its head and plucks the grasses with its teeth most of the fluids flow out through the nostrils

5. (pronominal) to be suitable, or enjoyable; to feel good

   Como che me presta o caldo con este frío! ― I really enjoy the hot soup with this cold weather!

   Non me dás un pouco? Pois que che preste! ― You won't give me a bit? Then, enjoy yourself!

   • 1370, R. Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 461:

     Et deulle tã grã ferida cõ hũa lança que tragía que a loriga nõ lle prestou nada, et passou a lança perlo uẽtre del, et logo as tripas lle caerõ sóbrelo arçón da sela

     And he hit him such a blow with a spear he brought that the breastplate didn't benefit him at all, and the spear passed through his belly, and immediately his intestines fell over the saddlebow

   • 1707, Salvador Francisco Roel, Entremés ao real e feliz parto da nosa raíña:

     Albino: Deyjame probar si quera
     vnha gota a min tamen.
     Marta: Pois tendela vara e besta
     quen bos quita que bebàs?
     Albino: Ay Iasus como me presta.

     Albino: "Let me taste al least
     a drop for myself"
     Marta: "You have rod and horse,
     who's forbidding you of drinking?"
     Albino: "Oh, Jesus, it feels good!"

• (to be enjoyable): avecer, avegar
• (to be useful): aproveitar

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “prestar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “prestar”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “prestar”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “prestar”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• “prestar”, in Dicionário Estraviz de galego (in Galician), 2014–2026
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “prestar”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

prestar

1. indefinite nominative plural of prestur

• IPA^(key): /presˈtar/

prestar

1. to lend

prestar (short or poetical form of prestare)

1. (transitive) to lend, (pronominal) to borrow

• Oxford-Paravia Concise - Dizionario Inglese-Italiano e Italiano-Inglese. Edited by Maria Cristina Bareggi. Torino: Paravia, 2003 (in collaboration with Oxford University Press). ISBN 8839551107. Online version here

prestar m

1. indefinite plural of prest

prestar

1. indefinite nominative plural of prestr

Inherited from Latin praestāre.

prestar

1. to lend
   • between 1140 and 1207, anonymous, Poem of the Cid 118:

     E p̃ſtalde de auer lo q̃ ſea guiſado

     And lend him wealth to the extent it be reasonable

2. to be useful, of distinction

   omne de prestar ― distinguished man

   • 1293, anonymous, Gran conquista de ultramar 148v, (ms. 1187 BNM, ed. by Louis Cooper et al. (1995)):

     Ca en la villa non auie yente de prestar

     ...because in the village there were no people of distinction

3. to give, donate (e.g. money)

From Old Galician-Portuguese prestar, from Latin praestāre.

prestar (first-person singular present presto, first-person singular preterite prestei, past participle prestado)

1. (intransitive) to be useful; to be suitable; to be good [with para ‘for something’]

   Este dicionário não presta. ― This dictionary isn't useful.

   Este dicionário não presta para nada. ― This dictionary isn't useful for anything.

2. (transitive) to render, to provide, to offer (a service, help etc.)

   Ninguém me prestou ajuda. ― Nobody offered me help.

3. (transitive) to pay (attention, respect etc.)

   Acorda e presta mais atenção! ― Wake up and pay more attention!

4. (pronominal) to be suitable [with a ‘for something’]

   A sala presta-se perfeitamente a este fim. ― The room is perfectly suitable for this purpose.

• “prestar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “prestar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

From pre- +‎ stȁr.

• IPA^(key): /prɛstár/

prestȁr

1. too old

• “prestar”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “prestar”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Inherited from Old Spanish prestar, from Latin praestāre.

Coromines and Pascual mention an old attestation of Latin praestō meaning "to lend" in a legal document of 438, the Interpretationes Theodosianae, where commodō is switched for praestō. This meaning is also attested in the Reichenau Glosses. They also mention that the meaning "to borrow", generally considered non-standard, is already attested in the 16th-century work El patrañuelo.

• IPA^(key): /pɾesˈtaɾ/ [pɾesˈt̪aɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: pres‧tar

prestar (first-person singular present presto, first-person singular preterite presté, past participle prestado)

1. (transitive) to lend

   Prestame tu bicicleta.

   Lend me your bicycle.

2. (transitive) to give, pay (e.g., attention)

   ¡Prestad atención, por favor!

   Pay attention, please!

3. (reflexive, transitive) to have a natural inclination, a natural tendency

   El alcohol se presta al abuso.

   Alcohol tends to be abused.

4. (transitive) to take

   Los ministros prestan el juramento.

   The ministers take the oath.

5. (transitive, nonstandard) to borrow

   Synonyms: pedir prestado, tomar prestado

   ¿Le prestaste la laptop?

   Did you borrow the laptop from her?

• “prestar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• Coromines, Joan; Pascual, José Antonio (1985), “prestar”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critical Castilian and Hispanic etymological dictionary]‎^[1] (in Spanish), volume IV (Me–Re), Madrid: Gredos, →ISBN, page 646