From Old French rendre ("to render, to make"), from Vulgar Latin *rendere, from Latin reddere, present active infinitive of reddō ("return in profit").
I just wonder whether it is a kind of sound change or just a infix "-n-"?
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1So you are only wondering about the n in Vulgar Latin? – Cerberus Feb 22 '13 at 3:30
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Have you looked it up in the OED (render, v: Etymology)? There's an answer there. – Alex B. Feb 22 '13 at 17:04
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The "-n-" isn't a real infix (like the Proto-Indo-European infixes). It's no sound change, either.
The "-n-" is due to a mix-up ("croisement") with Latin "prendere", "prehendere" ("to take"), whence also French "prendre" (Picoche and Rolland).
Nocentini adds some other Latin verbs that could have influenced "reddere": "pendere", "vendere".
Sources:
Jacqueline Picoche, Jean-Claude Rolland, "Dictionnaire étymologique du français", Paris 2009, Dictionnaires Le Robert, ISBN 978-2-84902-424-9
Alberto Nocentini, Alessandro Parenti, "l'Etimologico — Vocabolario della lingua italiana", Le Monnier, 2010, ISBN 978-88-00-20781-2
