sell

sell
sell O.E. sellan "to give," from P.Gmc. *saljanan (Cf. O.N. selja "to hand over, deliver, sell;" O.Fris. sella, O.H.G. sellen "to give, hand over, sell;" Goth. saljan "to offer a sacrifice"), perhaps a causative form of the root of O.E. sala "sale." One of the first things a student of Old English has to learn is that the word that looks like sell usually means "give." Meaning "to give up for money" had emerged by c.1000. An O.E. word for "to sell" was bebycgan, from bycgan "to buy." Slang meaning "to swindle" is from 1590s. The noun phrase hard sell is recorded from 1952. To sell one's soul is from c.1570. Sell-by date is from 1972. To sell (someone) down the river is first recorded 1927, but probably from slavery days, on notion of sale from the Upper South to the cotton plantations of the Deep South (attested in this literal sense since 1851). To sell like hot cakes is from 1839.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • sellənmə — «Sellənmək»dən f. is …   Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti

  • şellənmə — «Şellənmək»dən f. is …   Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti

  • sell — W1S1 [sel] v past tense and past participle sold [səuld US sould] ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(give something for money)¦ 2¦(make something available)¦ 3¦(make somebody want something)¦ 4¦(be bought)¦ 5 sell like hot cakes 6¦(idea/plan)¦ 7 sell yourself 8 sell… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Sell — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Brian Sell (* 1978), US amerikanischer Leichtathlet Christian Sell (1831–1883), deutscher Maler Colin Sell (* 1948), britischer Pianist Eric Sell (* 1983), namibischer Musiker Friedrich L. Sell (* 1954),… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • sell — [sel] vt. sold, selling [ME sellen < OE sellan, to give, offer, akin to Goth saljan, to offer (sacrifice): caus. formation in sense “to cause to take” < IE base * sel , to take, grasp > SALE, Gr helein, to take] 1. to give up, deliver,… …   English World dictionary

  • sell on — To sell (what one has bought) to someone else • • • Main Entry: ↑sell * * * ˌsell ˈon [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they sell on he/she/it sells o …   Useful english dictionary

  • sell — ► VERB (past and past part. sold) 1) hand over in exchange for money. 2) deal in (goods or property). 3) (of goods) attain sales. 4) (sell out) sell all of one s stock of something. 5) (sell up) sell all of one s proper …   English terms dictionary

  • sell — vb sold, sell·ing vt 1: to transfer ownership of by sale compare barter, convey, give 2: to offer for sale …   Law dictionary

  • Sell — (s[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sold} (s[=o]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. {Selling}.] [OE. sellen, sillen, AS. sellan, syllan, to give, to deliver; akin to OS. sellian, OFries. sella, OHG. sellen, Icel. selja to hand over, to sell, Sw. s[ a]lja to sell,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sell — (s[e^]l), v. i. 1. To practice selling commodities. [1913 Webster] I will buy with you, sell with you; . . . but I will not eat with you. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. To be sold; as, corn sells at a good price. [1913 Webster] {To sell out}, to sell… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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