Where does “cheap” come from?
cheap (Chinese) comes from English cheap, from Middle English chep, from Old English cēap, from Proto-Germanic kaupōną, from Proto-Germanic kaupô, from Latin caupo, from Proto-Indo-European kaup-.
cheap (Chinese): stingy; mean; excessively frugal
Definitions
- stingy; mean; excessively frugal
Ancestry of “cheap”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | cheap | Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering; A market;... |
| 2 | Middle English | chep | — |
| 3 | Old English | cēap | cattle, purchase, sale, traffic, business,... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | kaupōną | to buy; trade |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | kaupô | innkeeper; merchant |
| 6 | Latin | caupo | Tradesman; Innkeeper, shopkeeper |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | kaup- | — |