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Added 9 October 2026

cheap

/ˈt͡ʃiːp/ adjective

In Latin: vīlis Wiktionary

adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cheap at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Relatively low in price or charging low prices.
it would have been cheap at twice the price
Tastelessly showy.
a flash car
Of very poor quality; flimsy.

Origin

As a noun, from Middle English chep, from Old English cēap (“trade, market, value”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaup. As a verb, from Middle English chepen, from Old English ċēapian (“to buy, bargain, trade”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaupōn, from Proto-Germanic *kaupōną, a verbal derivative of *kaupô (“trader”), from Latin caupō. The adjective originated as a shortening of Middle and Early Modern English good cheap, literally “good purchase” (as in “that was good cheap”, i.e. “that was [a] good purchase”). Compare Dutch goedkoop, French bon marché.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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