- To sell
- Sell Sell (s[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sold} (s[=o]ld); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Selling}.] [OE. sellen, sillen, AS. sellan,
syllan, to give, to deliver; akin to OS. sellian, OFries.
sella, OHG. sellen, Icel. selja to hand over, to sell, Sw.
s["a]lja to sell, Dan. s[ae]lge, Goth. saljan to offer a
sacrifice; all from a noun akin to E. sale. Cf. {Sale}.]
1. To transfer to another for an equivalent; to give up for a
valuable consideration; to dispose of in return for
something, especially for money. It is the correlative of
buy.
[1913 Webster]
If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor. --Matt. xix. 21. [1913 Webster]
I am changed; I'll go sell all my land. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
Note: Sell is corellative to buy, as one party buys what the other sells. It is distinguished usually from exchange or barter, in which one commodity is given for another; whereas in selling the consideration is usually money, or its representative in current notes. [1913 Webster]
2. To make a matter of bargain and sale of; to accept a price or reward for, as for a breach of duty, trust, or the like; to betray. [1913 Webster]
You would have sold your king to slaughter. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. To impose upon; to trick; to deceive; to make a fool of; to cheat. [Slang] --Dickens. [1913 Webster]
{To sell one's life dearly}, to cause much loss to those who take one's life, as by killing a number of one's assailants.
{To sell} (anything) {out}, to dispose of it wholly or entirely; as, he had sold out his corn, or his interest in a business. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
