auction

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɔːkʃən/ (UK); /ˈɔkʃən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin auctio (“a sale by increasing bids; literally, an increase”),^[2][3][4] from augēre (“to increase”),^[2][3][5] from PIE Proto-Indo-European *aug- (“to increase”).^[3] It is related to augment, author and eke.^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A public sale in which each bidder offers more than the last: 1595.^[2][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In 1692 it was also used for increase or growth, after the Latin.^[6] The verb, to sell at an auction, is from 1723 in MWU and Etymonline, 1807 in Barnhart,^[7][3][2] and since the early 19th century it is often used with off.^[3] Auctioneer is from 1708.^[2] In bridge, the bidding is the auction (1908).^[6] Etymonline notes that in the US things are sold at auction and in England by auction, and that in northern England and Scotland an auction was a roup.^[3] In Lancashire and Yorkshire dialect an auction was a dirty or untidy place.^[8]

Timeline

• 1595 – a public sale to the highest bidder.^[2][6]
• 1708 – auctioneer.^[2]
• 1723 – the verb.^[7]
• 1908 – the bidding in bridge.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A public sale in which goods or property are sold to the highest bidder.
2. (bridge) The bidding before play begins.

Verb

1. To sell at an auction, often with off.

Word family

• auctionable
• auctionary
• auctioneer
• unauctioned
• auction bridge
• auction pitch
• Dutch auction
• auction block

Related words

• augment
• author
• eke

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)