sell

I. verb (sold; selling) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sellan; akin to Old High German sellen to sell, Greek helein to take Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. to deliver or give up in violation of duty, trust, or loyalty and especially for personal gain ; betray — often used with out <

sell out their country

> 2. a. (1) to give up (property) to another for something of value (as money) (2) to offer for sale b. to give up in return for something else especially foolishly or dishonorably <

sold his birthright for a mess of pottage

> c. to exact a price for <

sold their lives dearly

> 3. a. to deliver into slavery for money b. to give into the power of another <

sold his soul to the devil

> c. to deliver the personal services of for money 4. to dispose of or manage for profit instead of in accordance with conscience, justice, or duty <

sold their votes

> 5. a. to develop a belief in the truth, value, or desirability of ; gain acceptance for <

trying to sell a program to the Congress

> b. to persuade or influence to a course of action or to the acceptance of something <

sell children on reading

> 6. to impose on ; cheat 7. a. to cause or promote the sale of <

using television advertising to sell cereal

> b. to make or attempt to make sales to c. to influence or induce to make a purchase 8. to achieve a sale of <

sold a million copies

> intransitive verb 1. to dispose of something by sale <

thinks now is a good time to sell

> 2. to achieve a sale; also to achieve satisfactory sales <

hoped that the new line would sell

> 3. to have a specified price • sellable adjective II. noun Date: 1838 1. a deliberate deception ; hoax 2. the act or an instance of selling 3. something to be sold or caused to be accepted <

the new mystery novel was an easy sell

>; also someone to whom something is sold <

the new purchasing agent was a tough sell

> III. noun or selle Etymology: Middle English selle, from Anglo-French sele, from Latin sella — more at settle Date: 15th century archaic saddle IV. chiefly Scottish variant of self