wholesale

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈhəʊl.seɪl/, US /ˈhoʊl.seɪl/^[1]

Etymology

It began as the phrase by whole sale, selling in large quantities,^[2][3] from whole and sale.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Selling in large quantities: before 1417 in the OED, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Figuratively, on a large scale or in large numbers, is from 1601,^[2] and indiscriminately or extensively (wholesale slaughter) from the 1640s.^[4][2][5] Selling by wholesale, as of a dealer, is from about 1645,^[2] and the noun, a wholesale dealer, from 1851.^[2] The verb is from 1800.^[4] Word Origins contrasts it with retail.^[6]

Timeline

• before 1417 – in large quantities.^[2]
• 1601 – on a large scale (figurative).^[2]
• 1640s – indiscriminate.^[4]
• 1800 – to wholesale (verb).^[4]
• 1851 – a wholesale dealer.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The selling of goods in large quantities to retailers for resale.

Adjective

1. Of or engaged in such selling: wholesale prices.
2. Done on a large scale and without distinction: wholesale destruction.

Adverb

1. In large quantities, at wholesale prices.
2. Extensively and without distinction.

Verb

1. To sell goods wholesale.

Word family

• wholesaler

Related words

• whole
• sale
• retail

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press