sell English · revision 3209

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *saljaną}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sel/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|sellen]],^(AHD 2000)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|sellan|t=to give, furnish, supply; deliver; sell]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[gem-pro|*saljaną|alt=*saljanan|t=to offer up, deliver]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) the source also of Old Norse selja “to hand over, sell”, Old High German sellen “to deliver” and Gothic saljan “to offer a sacrifice”.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Merriam-Webster explains it as a causative verb formed from a noun represented by Old English sala “sale”.^(MWU 2024) It is ultimately from [[ine-pro|*sel-|t=to take, grasp]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and related to [[sale]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English sellan, “to give”, is found about 725, in ''Beowulf'';^(Barnhart 1988) the Middle English form sellen is from probably before 1200.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The original meaning was to give or hand over something in response to a request.^(Cresswell 2021) “To give up for money” had emerged by late Old English, but in Chaucer selle can still mean “to give”;^(Etymonline) the Old English word for selling was bebycgan, from bycgan “to buy”.^(Etymonline) “To betray for gain” is from about 1200,^(Etymonline) and the slang sense “to swindle” from the 1590s.^(Etymonline) ''To sell one's soul'' to the devil is from about 1570.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The noun meant an act of betrayal in 1838, in Dickens' ''Oliver Twist'',^(Barnhart 1988) and a hoax by 1838^(Etymonline) or 1853.^(Barnhart 1988) ''To sell like hot cakes'' is from 1839,^(Etymonline) the figurative ''sell down the river'' by 1927,^(Etymonline) the ''hard sell'' by 1952^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) and the ''sell-by'' date from 1972.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English sellan, to give.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * late Old English – to give for money.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1200 – to betray for gain.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1570 – ''to sell one's soul''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – to swindle.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1838 – noun, a betrayal; a hoax.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1839 – ''sell like hot cakes''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1952 – ''hard sell''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1972 – ''sell-by'' date.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give something in exchange for money.^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # To offer goods for sale as a business.^(AHD)

+ # To be bought in a certain amount or at a certain price: ''the book sold well''.^(AHD)

+ # To persuade someone to accept an idea: ''sold them on the plan''.^(AHD)

+ # To [[betray]] for money or reward.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(slang)'' To cheat or deceive.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act or manner of selling: ''a hard sell''.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # ''(informal)'' A hoax or disappointment.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sellable]]

+ * [[outsell]]

+ * [[oversell]]

+ * [[presell]]

+ * [[supersell]]

+ * [[undersell]]

+ * [[unsell]]

+ * [[hard-sell]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sale]]

+ * [[seller]]

+ * [[sellout]]

+ * [[resell]]

+ * [[upsell]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different, now archaic and dialect ''sell'', “a seat; a saddle”, is from Old French selle, from Latin sella.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 1989)^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}