Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for SALE
SALE, n. [W. sal, a pass, a cast or throw, a sale; Sax. sal, sale; sellan, sylan, syllan, gesyllan, to give, yield, grant, impart, deliver, also to sell. The primary sense of sell, is simply to deliver or cause to pass from one person to another; Sw. sälja, Dan. sælger, to sell.]
- The act of selling; the exchange of a commodity for money of equivalent value. The exchange of one commodity for another is barter or permutation, and sale differs from barter only in the nature of the equivalent given.
- Vent; power of selling; market. He went to market, but found no sale for his goods.
- Auction; public sale to the highest bidder, or exposure of goods in market. [Little used.] Temple.
- State of being venal, or of being offered to bribery; as, to set the liberty of a state to sale. Addison.
- A wicker basket. [Qu. Sax. sælan, to bind.] Spenser.
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