bargain

From Middle English bargaynen (“to bargain, make a pledge for sale”), from Old French bargaigner (“to bargain”), from Frankish *borganjan (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną (“to borrow, lend”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, secure”). Akin to Old High German boragēn, borgēn (“to look after, care for”) (German borgen), Old English borgian (“to borrow, lend, pledge”). More at borrow.

Compare French barguigner and Portuguese barganhar.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bägən, IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːɡən/, /-ɡɪn/
• (General American) enPR: bärgən, IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːɹɡən/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)ɡən, -ɑː(ɹ)ɡɪn
• Hyphenation: bar‧gain

bargain (plural bargains)

1. An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds themself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds themself to receive the property and pay the consideration.
   • 1883, J. J. S Wharton, Wharton's Law Lexicon:

     A contract is a bargain that is legally binding.

2. An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.

   Synonyms: contract, engagement, stipulation

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

     […] And when your honors mean to solemnize
     The bargain of your faith, I do beseech you,
     Even at that time I may be married too.

3. An item purchased for significantly less than the usual, or recommended, price

   Synonym: steal

   Antonym: rip-off

4. A gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase.

   to buy a thing at a bargain

   At that price, it's not just a bargain, it's a steal.

   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC, page 0016:

     Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].

5. The thing stipulated or purchased.

   Synonym: purchase

   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     If he say so, may his pernicious soul Rot half a grain a day! He lies to th' heart. She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.

• Sranan Tongo: barki

bargain (third-person singular simple present bargains, present participle bargaining, simple past and past participle bargained)

1. (intransitive) To make a bargain; to make a deal or contract for the exchange of property or services; to negotiate

   They had to bargain for a few minutes to get a decent price for the rug.

   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     So worthless peasants bargain for their wives.
     United we bargain, divided we beg

2. (transitive) To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade

• haggle

• Bagrian, braaing

bargain

1. Alternative form of bargayne

bargain m

1. genitive singular of bargan
2. nominative plural of bargan