buy
Meanings
verb
- To obtain (something) in exchange for money or goods.
- To obtain, especially by some sacrifice.
- To suffer consequences for (something) through being deprived of something; to pay for (something one has done).
- To bribe.
- To be equivalent to in value.
- to accept as true; to believe
- To make a purchase or purchases, to treat (for a drink, meal or gift)
- To make a bluff, usually a large one.
noun
- Something which is bought; a purchase.
Pronunciation
Word forms
Etymology
From Middle English byen, from Old English bycġan (“to buy, pay for, acquire, redeem, ransom, procure, get done, sell”), from Proto-West Germanic *buggjan, from Proto-Germanic *bugjaną (“to buy”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūgʰ- (“to bend”), or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to take away, deliver”). Cognate with Scots buy (“to buy, purchase”), obsolete Dutch beugen (“to buy”), Old Saxon buggian, buggean (“to buy”), Old Norse byggja (“to build, settle”), Gothic 𐌱𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bugjan, “to buy”). The spelling with “u” is from the Southwest, while the pronunciation with /aɪ/ is from the East Midlands.
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