Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[organica]

Hello

According to the dictionary, Thesaurus, renter has two meanings, which, to me, is contradictory to each other, as it says:

1. One that receives payment in exchange for the use of one's property by another.
2. One that pays rent for the use of another's property; a tenant.

When renting a house or an apartment, isn't the opposite meaning of the landlord "renter" or "tenant?"

When is "rent" used as the first meaning?

Thank you very much for your help.
Organica

[Nef]

Hello

According to the dictionary, Thesaurus, renter has two meanings, which, to me, is contradictory to each other, as it says:

1. One that receives payment in exchange for the use of one's property by another.
2. One that pays rent for the use of another's property; a tenant.

When renting a house or an apartment, isn't the opposite meaning of the landlord "renter" or "tenant?"

When is "rent" used as the first meaning?

The second meaning is very common (renter = tenant). I think most people think of that rather than the first meaning.

A landlord rents TO a tenant. In that sense, the landlord is a renter (renter, as used here, = someone who rents TO someone else).

A tenant rents FROM a landlord (pays for the use of the apartment).

Thank you very much for your help.
Organica

[Jintii]

Yes, as Nef mentions, to rent has two different (and opposite) meanings, so it's not surprising that renter does, as well. The prepositions to and from can help you understand which meaning is intended, but really, in practice, it's usually obvious.

1. John owns two houses, so he rents one (to Lisa) for some extra income. (Sometimes people use the preposition out with this meaning as well, just to clarify -- John rents one house out.)
2. Lisa doesn't own any houses, so she rents one (from John).

Here are some other words with the same identity crisis:

Clip: join things together, as with a paper-clip, and cut apart, as in clip an article from the paper or clip someone's hair

Dust : remove dust, as in dusting the living room, and apply dust, as in crop dusting or dusting for fingerprints

Cleave : split apart or break, as in to cleave in two, and stick or adhere, as in to cleave to each other

Fast : quick, as in he moved fast, and stuck or unmoving, as in the door was stuck fast

Sanction : permission, as in officially sanctioned activities, and penalty, as in economic sanctions

[organica]

Amazing....
Thank you, Nef and Jintii, for the quick and detailed replies.
It's clear now.

Organica