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Origin and history of buy

buy(v.)

Middle English bien, from Old English bycgan (past tense bohte) "get by paying for, acquire the possession of in exchange for something of like value; redeem, ransom; procure; get done," from Proto-Germanic *bugjan (source also of Old Saxon buggjan, Old Norse byggja, Gothic bugjan), which is of unknown origin and not found outside Germanic.

The surviving spelling is southwest England dialect; the word was generally pronounced in Old English and Middle English with a -dg- sound as "budge," or "bidge." The meaning "believe, accept as true" is attested by 1926. Related: Bought; buying. To buy time "prevent further deterioration but make no improvement" is attested from 1946.

buy(n.)

"a purchase," especially a worthwhile one, 1875, American English, from buy (v.).

also from 1875

Entries linking to buy

bought

past tense and past participle of buy (v.).

boughten(adj.)

irregular past participle of buy, attested as an adjective from 1793, especially in colloquial U.S. use, in reference to clothing and other items, and opposed to made.

BOUGHTEN. Which is bought. This is a common word in the interior of New England and New York. It is applied to articles purchased from the shops, to distinguish them from similar articles of home manufacture. [Bartlett, "Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]
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Trends of buy

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

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sell
Middle English sellen, from Old English sellan "to give (something to someone), furnish, supply, lend; surrender, give up; deliver to; promise," from Proto-Germanic *saljanan "offer up, deliver" (source also of Old Norse selja "to hand over, deliver, sell;" Old Frisian sella, Old
bargain
c. 1400, "engage in business transactions, discuss or arrange terms of a transaction; to vend or sell," from Old French bargaignier "to haggle over the price" (12c., Modern French barguigner), perhaps from Frankish *borganjan "to lend" or some other Germanic source, ultimately fr
steal
Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan "commit a theft, take and carry off clandestinely and without right or leave" (class IV strong verb; past tense stæl, past participle stolen), from Proto-Germanic *stelanan (source also of Old Norse stela, Old Saxon stelan, Old Frisi
redeem
early 15c., redemen, "buy back, ransom, recover by purchase," also in a theological sense, "deliver from sin and spiritual...death," from Old French redimer "buy back" and directly from Latin redimere "to redeem, buy back," from red- "back" (see...re-) + emere "to take, buy, gain, procure" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute")....
ransom
earlier raenson "ransom, redemption," from Latin redemptionem (nominative redemptio) "a redeeming," from redimere "to redeem, buy...back," from red- "back" (see re-) + emere "to take, buy, gain, procure" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute")....
venal
"for sale, to be sold; capable of being bribed," from venum (nominative *venus) "for sale," from PIE root *wes- (1) "to buy...vasnah "purchase money," vasnam "reward," vasnayati "he bargains, haggles;" Greek onos "price paid, purchase," oneisthai "to buy...
redemption
back or off, a releasing, a ransoming" (also "bribery"), noun of action from past-participle stem of redimere "to redeem, buy...back," from red- "back" (see re-) + emere "to take, buy, gain, procure" (from PIE root *em- "to take, distribute")....
pickup
also pick-up, "that which is picked up," 1848; see pick up (v.). As "act of picking up" from 1882. Meaning "capacity for acceleration" is from 1909; that of "recovery" is from 1916. In reference to a game between informal teams chosen on the spot, from 1905; as an adjective, "com
pick up
early 14c. as a verbal phrase, "lift and take with the fingers," from pick (v.) + up (adv.). From 1510s as "take or get casually, obtain or procure as opportunity offers." Meaning "take (a person found or overtaken) into a vehicle or vessel," is from 1690s, also, of persons, "mak
overtake
"to come up to, catch up with, catch in pursuit," early 13c., from over- + take (v.). According to OED (1989), originally "the running down and catching of a fugitive or beast of chase"; the editors find the sense of over- in this word "not so clear." The meaning "take by surpris

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