bargain
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English bargaynen (“to bargain, make a pledge for sale”), from Old French bargaigner (“to bargain”), from Frankish *borganjan (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, secure”). Akin to Old High German boragēn, borgēn (“to look after, care for”) (German borgen), Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge”). More at borrow.
Compare French barguigner and Portuguese barganhar.
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bägən, IPA(key): /ˈbɑːɡən/, /-ɡɪn/
- (General American) enPR: bärgən, IPA(key): /ˈbɑːɹɡən/
Audio (GA) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)ɡən, -ɑː(ɹ)ɡɪn
- Hyphenation: bar‧gain
Noun edit
bargain (plural bargains)
- An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself to receive the property and pay the consideration.
- 1883, J. J. S Wharton, Wharton's Law Lexicon:
- A contract is a bargain that is legally binding.
- An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.
- Synonyms: contract, engagement, stipulation
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- […] And when your honors mean to solemnize
The bargain of your faith, I do beseech you,
Even at that time I may be married too.
- An item purchased for significantly less than the usual, or recommended, price
- A gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase.
- to buy a thing at a bargain
- At that price, it's not just a bargain, it's a steal.
- 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:
- Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].
- The thing stipulated or purchased.
- Synonym: purchase
- c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:
- If he say so, may his pernicious soul Rot half a grain a day! He lies to th' heart. She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.
Derived terms edit
Terms derived from bargain (noun)
- bargain and sale
- bargain basement
- bargain-basement
- bargain bin
- bargain bucket
- catching bargain
- drive a hard bargain
- Dutch bargain
- Faustian bargain
- fool's bargain
- in the bargain
- into the bargain
- keep one's side of the bargain
- make the best of a bad bargain
- plea-bargain
- plea bargain
- Queen's hard bargain
- rue-bargain
- sell bargains
- Smithfield bargain
- strike a bargain
- time bargain
- time-bargain
- wet bargain
Descendants edit
- Sranan Tongo: barki
Translations edit
agreement or contract concerning sale of property
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agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge
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item bought at a low price
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thing stipulated or purchased
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Verb edit
bargain (third-person singular simple present bargains, present participle bargaining, simple past and past participle bargained)
- (intransitive) To make a bargain; to make a deal or contract for the exchange of property or services; to negotiate
- They had to bargain for a few minutes to get a decent price for the rug.
- 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- So worthless peasants bargain for their wives.
United we bargain, divided we beg
- (transitive) To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade
Derived terms edit
Terms derived from bargain (verb)
Translations edit
to make a bargain
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to trade
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See also edit
Anagrams edit
Middle English edit
Noun edit
bargain
- Alternative form of bargayne
Scottish Gaelic edit
Noun edit
bargain m