Sell

Sell (sel) , noun

Self. [Obsolete or Scottish] — B. Jonson

Sell (sel) , noun

A sill. [Obsolete] — Chaucer

Sell (sel) , noun

A cell; a house. [Obsolete] — Chaucer

Sell (sel) , noun

[French selle, Latin sella, akin to sedere to sit. See Sit.]

A saddle for a horse. [Obsolete]

He left his lofty steed with golden self. — Spenser

A throne or lofty seat. [Obsolete] — Fairfax

Sell (sel) , transitive verb

[Old English sellen, sillen, Anglo-Saxon sellan, syllan, to give, to deliver; akin to Old Saxon sellian, OFries. sella, Old High German sellen, Icelandic selja to hand over, to sell, Swedish salja to sell, Danish salge, Gothic saljan to offer a sacrifice; all from a noun akin to English sale. Compare Sale.]

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.

If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor. — Matt. xix. 21

I am changed; I'll go sell all my land. — Shakespeare

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.

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.

You would have sold your king to slaughter. — Shakespeare

To impose upon; to trick; to deceive; to make a fool of; to cheat. [Slang] — Dickens

Collocations (2)

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 or out , to dispose of it wholly or entirely; as, he had sold out his corn, or his interest in a business.

Sell (sel) , intransitive verb

To practice selling commodities.

I will buy with you, sell with you;... but I will not eat with you. — Shakespeare

To be sold; as, corn sells at a good price.

Collocations (1)

To sell out , to sell one's whole stock in trade or one's entire interest in a property or a business.

Sell , noun

An imposition; a cheat; a hoax. [Colloquial]