Contents
- 1 English
- 1.1 Etymology
- 1.2 Pronunciation
- 1.3 Verb
- 1.3.1 Conjugation
- 1.3.2 Alternative forms
- 1.3.3 Synonyms
- 1.3.4 Antonyms
- 1.3.5 Derived terms
- 1.3.6 Related terms
- 1.3.7 Descendants
- 1.3.8 Translations
- 1.4 Noun
- 1.4.1 Antonyms
- 1.4.2 Derived terms
- 1.4.3 Translations
- 1.5 References
- 1.6 Anagrams
- 2 Chinese
- 2.1 Etymology
- 2.2 Pronunciation
- 2.3 Verb
- 3 Scots
- 3.1 Alternative forms
- 3.2 Etymology
- 3.3 Pronunciation
- 3.4 Verb
- 4 Tatar
- 4.1 Noun
- 5 Wolof
- 5.1 Etymology
- 5.2 Noun
English
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Etymology
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From Middle English byen, from Old English bycġan (“to buy, pay for, acquire, redeem, ransom, procure, get done, sell”), from Proto-West Germanic *buggjan, from Proto-Germanic *bugjaną (“to buy”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *bʰūgʰ- (“to bend”), or from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to take away, deliver”).
Cognate with Scots buy (“to buy, purchase”), obsolete Dutch beugen (“to buy”), Old Saxon buggian, buggean (“to buy”), Old Norse byggja (“to build, settle”), Gothic 𐌱𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bugjan, “to buy”). The spelling with “u” is from the Southwest, while the pronunciation with /aɪ/ is from the East Midlands.
Pronunciation
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Verb
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buy (third-person singular simple present buys, present participle buying, simple past bought, past participle bought or (archaic, rare, dialectal) boughten)
- (transitive, ditransitive) To obtain (something) in exchange for money or goods.
I'm going to buy my father something nice for his birthday.
1793, Benjamin Franklin, Autobiography:
Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou wilt sell thy necessaries.
- (transitive, ditransitive) To obtain, especially by some sacrifice.
I've bought material comfort by foregoing my dreams.
You just bought yourself an assault charge!
1611, The Holy Bible,[…] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker,[…], →OCLC, Proverbs 23:23:
Buy the truth and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
- (transitive, archaic) To suffer consequences for (something) through being deprived of something; to pay for (something one has done).
1593, anonymous author, The Life and Death of Iacke Straw[…], Act I:
VVhat villaine, doſt ſtrike me? I ſweare by the rood,
As I am Iacke Strawe, thou ſhalt buy it with thy blood.
- (transitive) To bribe.
He tried to buy me with gifts, but I wouldn't give up my beliefs.
- (transitive) To be equivalent to in value.
The dollar doesn't buy as much as it used to.
- (transitive, informal) to accept as true; to believe
I'm not going to buy your stupid excuses anymore!
2020, Akwaeke Emezi, The Death of Vivek Oji, Faber & Faber Ltd, page 201:
People like to say that dead people look asleep, and maybe she would have bought that under different circ*mstances.
- (intransitive) To make a purchase or purchases, to treat (for a drink, meal or gift)
She buys for Federated.
Let's go out for dinner. I'm buying.
- (poker slang, transitive) To make a bluff, usually a large one.
Smith tried to buy the pot on the river with a huge bluff.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of buy
Alternative forms
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- buie (archaic)
Synonyms
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- (obtain in exchange for money): cheap (obsolete), purchase
- (accept as true): accept, believe, swallow (informal), take on
- ((intransitive) make a purchase): make a buy
Antonyms
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- (antonym(s) of “obtain in exchange for money”): cheap (obsolete), sell, vend
- (antonym(s) of “accept as true”): disbelieve, reject, pitch
Derived terms
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Terms derived from buy (verb)
- bought and paid for
- bought priesthood
- bring-and-buy
- bring-and-buy sale
- buyability
- buyable
- buy a dog and bark oneself
- buy and pay for
- buy a pup
- buy a ticket to
- buy back
- buy-back
- buy-bust
- buycott
- buy down
- buy-down
- buyer
- buy in
- buy-in
- buying guide
- buying guide
- buying power
- buying power
- buying temperature
- buying temperature
- buy into
- buy it
- buy low, sell high
- buy off
- buy-off
- buy off on
- buy out
- buy-out
- buy out from under
- buy over
- buy side
- buy someone off
- buy someone out
- buy some time
- buy straw hats in winter
- buy the dip
- buy the dips
- buy the farm
- buy the rabbit
- buy the rack
- buy time
- buy to let
- buy-to-let
- buy-to-play
- buyup
- buy up
- buyware
- buy when it snows and sell when it goes
- buy when it snows, sell when it goes
- buy with one's ears
- buy wolf tickets
- buy woof tickets
- buy yourself a hat
- can I buy you a drink
- collective buying
- collective buying
- cross-buy
- don't buy green bananas
- forbuy
- forebuy
- group buying
- group buying
- I don't want to buy anything
- impulse buy
- impulse-buy
- leveraged buy-out
- money can't buy happiness
- multibuy
- must-buy
- outbuy
- overbuy
- panic-bought
- panic-buy
- prebuy
- rebuy
- shop-bought
- store-bought
- that and a nickel will buy you a cup of coffee
- unbuy
- underbuy
- vote buying
- vote buying
- why buy a book when you can join a library
- why buy a book when you can join the library
- why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free
Related terms
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Descendants
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Translations
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to obtain something with money
- Abkhaz: аахәара (aaxʷara)
- Afrikaans: koop(af)
- Aghwan: 𐔸𐕒𐔲𐕒𐕡𐕆𐔴𐕍𐔴𐕚𐕒𐕡𐕎 (toguheq̇esun)
- Ainu: ホㇰ (hok)
- Akan: tɔ
- Aklanon: bakae
- Albanian: blej(sq)
- Amharic: መግዛት (mägzat)
- Apache:
- Western Apache: nahiʼdiih
- Arabic: اِشْتَرَى(ar) (ištarā)
- Aragonese: crompar
- Armenian: գնել(hy) (gnel), առնել(hy) (aṙnel)
- Aromanian: acumpãr
- Assamese: কিনা (kina)
- Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܙܵܒ݂ܹܢ (zawen)
- Asturian: mercar, comprar
- Avar: бичун босизе (bičun bosize)
- Azerbaijani: almaq(az)
- Bashkir: һатып алыу (hatıp alıw), алыу (alıw)
- Basque: erosi(eu)
- Belait: melei
- Belarusian: купля́цьimpf (kupljácʹ), купі́цьpf (kupícʹ)
- Bengali: কেনা(bn) (kena)
- Breton: prenañ(br)
- Brunei Bisaya: mali
- Brunei Malay: bali
- Bulgarian: купу́вам(bg)impf (kupúvam)
- Burmese: ဝယ်(my) (wai)
- Catalan: comprar(ca)
- Cebuano: palit
- Central Atlas Tamazight: ⵙⵖ (sɣ), ⴰⵖ (aɣ)
- Central Dusun: boli
- Chechen: please add this translation if you can
- Chichewa: gula
- Chinese:
- Chuukese: kamö
- Cornish: prena
- Corsican: cumprà(co)
- Crimean Tatar: satın almaq
- Czech: kupovat(cs)impf, koupit(cs)pf
- Danish: købe(da)
- Dutch: kopen(nl), aanschaffen(nl), aankopen(nl)
- Elfdalian: tjyöpa
- Esperanto: aĉeti(eo)
- Estonian: ostma
- Evenki: гами (gami)
- Farefare: da
- Faroese: keypa
- Finnish: ostaa(fi)
- Franco-Provençal: achetar
- French: acheter(fr)
- Friulian: comprâ
- Galician: mercar(gl), comprar(gl)
- Georgian: ყიდვა (q̇idva)
- German: kaufen(de)
- Gilaki: هین (he:n)
- Gothic: 𐌱𐌿𐌲𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bugjan)
- Greek: αγοράζω(el) (agorázo)
- Greenlandic: sivoq
- Guaraní: jogua
- Gujarati: ખરીદવું (kharīdvũ)
- Haitian Creole: achte
- Hausa: sáyṓ
- Hawaiian: kūʻai
- Hebrew: קָנָה(he) (kaná)
- Higaonon: palit
- Hindi: मोल लेना (mol lenā), ख़रीदना (xarīdnā), कीनना(hi) (kīnnā)
- Hungarian: vásárol(hu), vesz(hu)
- Ibanag: gatang
- Icelandic: kaupa(is)
- Ido: komprar(io)
- Ilocano: gumatang, manggatang, gatangen
- Indonesian: membeli(id)
- Ingrian: ostaa, lunastaa, lunata
- Ingush: эца (eca)
- Interlingua: comprar, emer
- Irish: ceannaigh
- Isnag: xatang
- Istriot: cunprà
- Italian: comprare(it)
- Iu Mien: maaiz
- Ivatan: manadiw
- Japanese: 買う(ja) (かう, kau), 購入する(ja) (こうにゅうする, kōnyū suru)
- Javanese: tuku(jv), tumbas, mundhut(jv)
- Kabyle: ⴰⵖ (aɣ)
- Kaingang: kajãm
- Kambera: kei
- Kapampangan: sali, sumali
- Kazakh: сатып алу(kk) (satyp alu)
- Khmer: ទិញ(km) (tɨñ)
- Kongo: kusumba
- Korean: 사다(ko) (sada), 구입하다(ko) (gu'iphada)
- Kumyk: алмакъ (almaq)
- Kurdish:
- Kyrgyz: сатып алуу(ky) (satıp aluu)
- Ladin: comprer
- Lao: ຊື້ (sư̄)
- Latgalian: pierkt
- Latin: emō(la), sūmō(la)
- Latvian: pirkt(lv), nopirkt
- Ligurian: acatâ
- Lithuanian: pirkti(lt)
- Lombard: crompâ
- Low German:
- Lü: please add this translation if you can
- Luxembourgish: kafen
- Macedonian: ку́пуваimpf (kúpuva)
- Malay: beli(ms)
- Maltese: xtara
- Manchu: ᡠᡩᠠᠮᠪᡳ (udambi)
- Mansaka: bili
- Maori: hoko (with indicator mai)
- Mokilese: dupukda
- Mongolian: авах(mn) (avax), худалдаж авах (xudaldaž avax)
- Moore: ra
- Nanai: гаори (gaori)
- Navajo: nayiiłniih
- Neapolitan: accattà
- Nepali: किन्नु(ne) (kinnu)
- Ngazidja Comorian: uhula
- Norman: acater (Jersey), acataer (continental Normandy)
- North Frisian: (Föhr-Amrum) kuupe
- Northern Sami: oastit
- Northern Thai: please add this translation if you can
- Norwegian: kjøpe(no)
- Occitan: crompar(oc)
- Ojibwe: adaawen
- Okinawan: 買ーゆん (kōyun), 買ーいん (kōin)
- Old English: bycgan, ceapian
- Old Norse: kaupa, byggja
- Old Saxon: buggian
- Oromo: bituu
- Ossetian: ӕлхӕнын (ælxænyn)
- Papiamentu: kumpra
- Pashto: پېرل(ps) (perǝ́l), پېرودل(ps) (perowdᶕl)
- Persian: خریدن(fa) (xaridan)
- Polish: kupować(pl)impf, kupić(pl)pf, nabywać(pl)impf, nabyć(pl)pf
- Portuguese: comprar(pt), adquirir(pt)
- Punjabi: ਖ਼ਰੀਦਣਾ (xarīdṇā)
- Quechua: rantiy(qu), rantii
- Romani: kinel
- Romanian: cumpăra(ro)
- Romansch: cumprar, cumprer
- Russian: покупа́ть(ru)impf (pokupátʹ), купи́ть(ru)pf (kupítʹ)
- Samogitian: pėrktė
- Sanskrit: क्रीणाति(sa) (krīṇāti)
- Sardinian: comparai, comporai, comporare, cumporai, comprai
- Scottish Gaelic: ceannaich
- Semai: belik
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: купитиpf, куповатиimpf, покуповати
- Roman: kupiti(sh)pf, kupovati(sh)impf, pokupovati(sh)
- Shan: please add this translation if you can
- Sicilian: accattari(scn), cumprari(scn)
- Sindhi: خريد ڪرڻ
- Sinhalese: ගන්නවා(si) (gannawā)
- Slovak: kupovaťimpf, kúpiť(sk)pf
- Slovene: kupovatiimpf, kupiti(sl)pf
- Somali: gado, iibso
- Sorbian:
- Sotho: reka(st)
- Spanish: comprar(es), mercar(es)
- Swahili: kununua
- Swedish: köpa(sv)
- Tagalog: bili(tl), bilhin, bumili
- Tai Dam: ꪏꪳ꫁
- Tajik: харидан(tg) (xaridan)
- Tamil: வாங்கு(ta) (vāṅku)
- Tausug: bii
- Tetum: sosa
- Thai: ซื้อ(th) (sʉ́ʉ)
- Tibetan: ཉོས (nyos), གཟིགས (gzigs) (honorific)
- Tocharian B: käry-
- Tumbuka: gula
- Turkish: satın almak(tr), sakmak(tr), almak(tr)
- Turkmen: satyn almak
- Tutong: meli
- Tuvan: садып алыр (sadıp alır)
- Ukrainian: купува́ти(uk)impf (kupuváty), купи́тиpf (kupýty)
- Urdu: مول لینا (mol lēnā), خریدنا (xarīdnā)
- Uyghur: سېتىۋالماق (sëtiwalmaq)
- Uzbek: sotib olmoq
- Venetian: cronpar, conprar
- Vietnamese: mua(vi)
- Walloon: atchter(wa)
- Waray-Waray: palit, balyo
- Welsh: prynu(cy)
- West Coast Bajau: beli
- West Frisian: keape, keapje
- White Hmong: yuav
- Yagnobi: хиринак (xirinak)
- Yiddish: קויפֿן (koyfn)
- Yoruba: rà
- Zhuang: cawx
to accept as true
- Albanian: blej(sq)
- Bashkir: ышаныу (ışanıw)
- Chinese:
- Czech: baštit(cs), žrát(cs), skočit(cs), sbaštit i s navijákem
- Dutch: slikken(nl)
- Finnish: niellä(fi), uskoa(fi)
- French: gober(fr)
- German: abkaufen(de), abnehmen(de)
- Greek: χάβω(el) (chávo), χάφτω(el) (cháfto)
- Hindi: मानना(hi) (mānnā)
- Hungarian: bevesz(hu)
- Kurdish:
- Northern Kurdish: pejirandin(ku), qebûl kirin
- Luxembourgish: ofhuelen
- Norwegian: kjøpe(no)
- Portuguese: engolir(pt)
- Russian: ве́рить(ru)impf (véritʹ), пове́рить(ru)pf (povéritʹ), ха́вать(ru)impf (xávatʹ) (slang), сха́вать(ru)pf (sxávatʹ) (slang)
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Roman: prihvatiti(sh)
- Slovak: naletieť
- Spanish: creer(es), comprar(es)
- Swahili: nunua(sw)
- Swedish: köpa(sv)
- Turkish: yemek(tr)
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout §Translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun
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buy (plural buys)
- Something which is bought; a purchase.
At only $30, the second-hand kitchen table was a great buy.
Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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purchase — see purchase
References
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- “buy”, in The Century Dictionary[…], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “buy”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams
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Chinese
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Etymology
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From English buy.
Pronunciation
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- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: baai1
- Yale: bāai
- Cantonese Pinyin: baai1
- Guangdong Romanization: bai1
- Sinological IPA (key): /paːi̯⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Verb
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buy
- (Hong Kong Cantonese) to accept (an idea)
2001, 尋秦記 [A Step into the Past], episode 1, spoken by 麥偉健 (麥長青 [Evergreen Mak Cheung-ching]):
Scots
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Alternative forms
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- beh (Dundee)
Etymology
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From Old English bycgan
Pronunciation
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Verb
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buy (third-person singular simple present buys, present participle buyin, simple past bocht, past participle bocht)
Tatar
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Noun
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buy
Wolof
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Etymology
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Related to guy (“baobab tree”).
Noun
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buy (definite form buy bi)