Attention walking dictionaries

[Nightshade]

Well recently this has been bugging e so does anyone know: what is the differance between (linguistically) renting and hiring?
And which is it for a car??

:::D :D:D

[Themis]

I think you hire a person and rent a car.

(But I'll check that with Webster's New Encyclopedic Dictionary as soon as I get it off the shelf without slaying myself.)

[Whifflingpin]

In my usage:

To hire is to pay for services or for temporary use of a thing, so persons or cars could be hired.

Rent was income mainly associated with land, so land and houses are rented, usually, rather than hired - but there is no absolute distinction, e.g. you might hire a room for a night, but rent it for a month, and you'd be as likely to rent a car as hire one, although, again, rent would be the long-term income usage, whereas hire would be for short-term use..

I think hire would always be used for people, except slaves, but then slaves are poeple treated as things.

[Logos]

Night, rent, hire, and even lease are very similar in how they can be used and what they mean, unless you want to get into the legalese. It just means obtaining product or services for a contracted period of time, usually at a set rate.

re car: obtaining the use of a vehicle for a set amount of time for a set rate of $, but often there are additional costs added. For example you've been in a car accident and while your car is being fixed your insurance covers the cost of renting/hiring a car for that repair period, usually about 5 days. At a daily rate +plus+ mileage.

To my knowlege, more than likely most Europeans will refer to it as hiring a car. North Americans more likely as renting a car (though they're interchangeable).

There is another distinction of which I'm well aware of :D that among business types who regularily conduct business in other cities/countries, and aren't familiar with local traffic laws, and/or just don't have the time/patience to drive themselves, they "hire" a car and driver to get them about. They'll contract the same driver for the duration of their stay in said city/country.

I've never heard the word hire used when referring to space used for living or commercial aspects, it's rent or lease.

The one difference seems to be that the word "hire" is more likely used when referring to "hiring the services of a person or a company". You hire a plumber, or hire the services of a catering company.

It reminds me of the use of "taxi" and "cab". Most North Americans refer to them as "cabs", you know the famous New York City Yellow Cabs, whereas most Europeans I know refer to them as "taxis". The full word is "taxicab" and they both mean the same thing.

[Virgil]

It reminds me of the use of "taxi" and "cab". Most North Americans refer to them as "cabs", you know the famous New York City Yellow Cabs, whereas most Europeans I know refer to them as "taxis". The full word is "taxicab" and they both mean the same thing.
Logos
I'm not sure I would agree here about North Americans prefering "cab" over "taxi". At least in the New York City area, and I haven't tallied it up and done a statistical study, but to my ear I think I hear "taxi" more frequent than "cab". If I were to guess, I would say that they are completely interchangable and roughly equally used. Of course now that I said that, everyone's going to dispute. ;)

edit: We also use limo (limosine) sometimes, usually for an upscale taxi, but not always. I've taken "limos" to the airport that were fairly broken down cars.

BTW, you did a nice job describing the differences between rent, hire, and lease.

[EAP]

You hire a living thing, you rent an inanimate object.

[Nightshade]

well thanks all I guess still :confused: but I guess that languge for you.