haggle

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhæɡəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is a frequentative of dialect hag “to chop, hack”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Middle English haggen,^[2][3][6] from Old Norse hǫggva (“to hack, hew”),^[2][3][6] with the suffix -le.^[3][6] It is related to hew and hack.^[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

To advance with difficulty (1583),^[3][7] implied in haggler “a clumsy workman” (1577).^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb meant to hack or mangle in cutting (1599),^[7][3][5] and by 1602 to dispute over the price or terms of a bargain,^[3][7][4] probably from the idea of chopping or whittling away.^[3][4] The noun followed in 1858.^[3][5][7]

Timeline

• 1577 – haggler.^[3][4]
• 1583 – to advance with difficulty.^[3][7]
• 1599 – to hack or mangle.^[7][3][5]
• 1602 – to bargain or dispute over terms.^[7][3][4]
• 1858 – noun, haggling.^[7][3][5]

Modern meaning

Verb

1. To bargain in a petty, quibbling way, especially over a price; to dicker.
2. To argue or wrangle in trying to reach terms.
3. To cut something roughly or clumsily; to hack.

Noun

1. An act of haggling.

Word family

• haggler

Related words

• hew
• hack
• higgle

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press