cheap English · revision 3863

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1509|origins=la caupō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tʃiːp/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a shortening of the Middle English phrase good chepe “a good bargain, a good price”,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) formed after Old French à bon marché “at a good market”.^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) The noun is [[inh|enm|chep|t=bargain, barter, price]],^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|ċēap|t=trade, barter, purchase; market]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gmw-pro|*kaupu]],^(Hoad 1986) based on an early Germanic borrowing of [[la|caupō|t=small trader, innkeeper]].^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Old Frisian kāp, Old High German kouf (German kaufen “to buy”) and Old Norse kaup “bargain” are from the same source.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It is related to [[chap]] and [[chapman]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Low-priced, inexpensive: 1509 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster,^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) and about 1500 in Etymonline.^(Etymonline) ''Good chep'' is from about 1280, and the surname Godchep from 1166.^(Barnhart 1988) Old English cēap “trade, purchase” is from about 725, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense went from “a barter, a purchase” to “a purchase as rated by the buyer”, and then to “inexpensive”.^(Etymonline) In Old English “low in price” was undēore, “un-dear”, while dēop cēap “deep cheap” meant a high price.^(Etymonline) Cēap also meant “market”, a sense surviving in place names such as Cheapside and Eastcheap.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) “Lightly esteemed, common” is from the 1590s, as with Latin vīlis.^(Etymonline) ''On the cheap'' is from 1859.^(Etymonline) A ''cheap shot'' was first American football jargon for a late or unfair hit, and was extended to politics by 1968.^(Etymonline) ''Cheap at the price'' means well worth having whatever it costs.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English cēap, trade.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1166 – the surname Godchep.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1280 – ''good chep''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1509 – inexpensive.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1590s – common, of little value.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1859 – ''on the cheap''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – ''cheap shot'' in politics.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Low in price; [[inexpensive]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Charging low prices: ''a cheap hotel''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Of poor quality; [[shoddy]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Achieved with little effort: ''a cheap victory''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Unwilling to spend money; [[stingy]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Contemptible; vulgar.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # At a low price.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cheaply]]

+ * [[cheapness]]

+ * [[cheapish]]

+ * [[cheapishly]]

+ * [[cheapie]]

+ * [[cheapo]]

+ * [[cheapen]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chap]]

+ * [[chapman]]

+ * [[cheapskate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}