Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Rent \Rent\, n. (Polit. Econ.)
   (a) That portion of the produce of the earth paid to the
       landlord for the use of the ``original and indestructible
       powers of the soil;'' the excess of the return from a
       given piece of cultivated land over that from land of
       equal area at the ``margin of cultivation.'' Called also
       {economic, or Ricardian, rent}. Economic rent is due
       partly to differences of productivity, but chiefly to
       advantages of location; it is equivalent to ordinary or
       commercial rent less interest on improvements, and nearly
       equivalent to ground rent.
   (b) Loosely, a return or profit from a differential advantage
       for production, as in case of income or earnings due to
       rare natural gifts creating a natural monopoly.