price

Overview

Meaning Now

• The quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.
• The cost at which something is obtained, often used figuratively to denote the effort or suffering required to achieve an outcome.

Journey

The word entered English following the Norman Conquest. It shares a common root with the word 'prize' and 'praise'. In Middle English, 'pris' could refer to both the cost of an item and the value or excellence of a person, reflecting the dual sense of 'reward' and 'worth' found in Latin 'pretium'.

Evolution

1. Classical Latin

   pretium

   “value, price, reward”

2. Old French

   pris

   “price, value, merit”

3. Middle English

   pris

   “price, cost, value”

4. Early Modern English

   price

   “cost, value”

   Spelling shift from 's' to 'c' to indicate the unvoiced pronunciation.

Connections

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Related to price

• praise→
• prize→
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