Wiktionary

bargain

English

edit
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

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

Noun

edit

bargain (plural bargains)

  1. An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds themself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds themself 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.
  2. 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.
  3. An item purchased for significantly less than the usual, or recommended, price
    Synonym: steal
    Antonym: rip-off
  4. 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; […].
  5. The thing stipulated or purchased.
    Synonym: purchase

Derived terms

edit
Terms derived from bargain (noun)

Descendants

edit
  • Sranan Tongo: barki

Translations

edit

Verb

edit

bargain (third-person singular simple present bargains, present participle bargaining, simple past and past participle bargained)

  1. (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
  2. (transitive) To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade

Derived terms

edit
Terms derived from bargain (verb)

Translations

edit

See also

edit

Anagrams

edit

Middle English

edit

Noun

edit

bargain

  1. Alternative form of bargayne

Scottish Gaelic

edit

Noun

edit

bargain m

  1. genitive singular of bargan
  2. nominative plural of bargan
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=bargain&oldid=79832763"