Bargain definition | Dictionary.com

bar⋅gain

[bahr-guh

–noun

1.	an advantageous purchase, esp. one acquired at less than the usual cost: The sale offered bargains galore.

2.	an agreement between parties settling what each shall give and take or perform and receive in a transaction.

3.	such an agreement as affecting one of the parties: a losing bargain.

4.	something acquired by bargaining.

5.	Informal. an agreeable person, esp. one who causes no trouble or difficulty (usually used in negative constructions): His boss is no bargain.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to discuss the terms of a bargain; haggle; negotiate.

7.	to come to an agreement; make a bargain: We bargained on a three-year term.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to arrange by bargain; negotiate: to bargain a new wage increase.

9.	to anticipate as likely to occur; expect (usually fol. by a clause): I'll bargain that he's going to give those company directors plenty of trouble.

—Verb phrases

10.	bargain for, to anticipate or take into account: The job turned out to be more than he had bargained for.

11.	bargain on, to expect or anticipate; count or rely on: You can't bargain on what she'll do in this situation.

—Idioms

12.	in or into the bargain, over and above what has been stipulated; moreover; besides: The new housekeeper proved to be a fine cook in the bargain.

13.	strike a bargain, to make a bargain; agree to terms: They were unable to strike a bargain because the owner's asking price was more than the prospective buyer could afford.

Origin:
1300–50; (v.) ME bargaynen < AF, OF bargai(g)ner, prob. < Frankish *borganjan, extended form of Gmc *borgan (cf. OHG bor(a)gēn to look after, MHG, G borgen to lend, borrow ); (n.) ME bargayn < AF, OF bargai(g)ne, bargain, n. deriv. of the v.; o > a in 1st syll. is unexplained

Related forms:

bar⋅gain⋅a⋅ble, adjective

bar⋅gain⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
2. stipulation, arrangement, transaction. See agreement. 6. See trade. 7. contract, covenant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bar·gain (bär'gĭn)

An agreement between parties fixing obligations that each promises to carry out.
1. An agreement establishing the terms of a sale or exchange of goods or services: finally reached a bargain with the antique dealer over the lamp.
2. Property acquired or services rendered as a result of such an agreement.
Something offered or acquired at a price advantageous to the buyer.

v. bar·gained, bar·gain·ing, bar·gains

v. intr.

To negotiate the terms of an agreement, as to sell or exchange.
To engage in collective bargaining.
To arrive at an agreement.

v. tr.
To exchange; trade: bargained my watch for a meal.
Phrasal Verb(s):
bargain for/onTo count on; expect: "I never bargained for this tearing feeling inside me" (Anne Tyler).

Idiom(s):
into/in the bargainOver and above what is expected; in addition.

[Middle English, from Old French bargaigne, haggling, from bargaignier, to haggle, of Germanic origin; see bhergh-¹ in Indo-European roots.]
bar'gain·er n.

Synonyms: These nouns denote an agreement arrived at after a discussion in which the parties involved promise to honor their respective obligations: kept my end of the bargain and mowed the lawn; made a compact to correspond regularly; a legally binding contract to install new windows; a covenant for mutual defense; ignored the requests that weren't part of the deal.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bargain

Bar"gain\, n. [OE. bargayn, bargany, OF. bargaigne, bargagne, prob. from a supposed LL. barcaneum, fr. barca a boat which carries merchandise to the shore; hence, to traffic to and fro, to carry on commerce in general. See Bark a vessel. ]

1. An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds himself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds himself to receive the property and pay the consideration.

A contract is a bargain that is legally binding. --Wharton.

2. An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.

And whon your honors mean to solemnize The bargain of your faith. --Shak.

3. A purchase; also ( when not qualified), a gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase; as, to buy a thing at a bargain.

4. The thing stipulated or purchased; also, anything bought cheap.

She was too fond of her most filthy bargain. --Shak.

Bargain and sale (Law), a species of conveyance, by which the bargainor contracts to convey the lands to the bargainee, and becomes by such contract a trustee for and seized to the use of the bargainee. The statute then completes the purchase; i. e., the bargain vests the use, and the statute vests the possession. --Blackstone.

Into the bargain, over and above what is stipulated; besides.

To sell bargains, to make saucy (usually indelicate) repartees. [Obs.] --Swift.

To strike a bargain, to reach or ratify an agreement. "A bargain was struck." --Macaulay.

Syn: Contract; stipulation; purchase; engagement.

Bargain

Bar"gain\, v. i. [OE. barganien, OF. bargaigner, F. barguigner, to hesitate, fr. LL. barcaniare. See Bargain, n.] To make a bargain; to make a contract for the exchange of property or services; -- followed by with and for; as, to bargain with a farmer for a cow.

So worthless peasants bargain for their wives. --Shak.

Bargain

Bar"gain\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bargained (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Bargaining.] To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade; as, to bargain one horse for another.

To bargain away, to dispose of in a bargain; -- usually with a sense of loss or disadvantage; as, to bargain away one's birthright. "The heir . . . had somehow bargained away the estate." --G. Eliot.

Language Translation for : Bargain

Spanish: ganga,

German: der Gelegenheitskauf, das Schnäppchen,

Japanese: 安い買物

More Translations »

bargain

1330, from O.Fr. bargaignier "to haggle," perhaps from Frank. *borganjan "to lend," and ultimately from P.Gmc. *borgan (cf. O.E. borgian, source of borrow). Another suggestion is that the O.Fr. word comes from L.L. barca "a barge," because it "carries goods to and fro." There are difficulties with both suggestions. A bargain basement (1899) originally was a basement floor in a store where bargains were displayed.

Main Entry: bar·gain
Function: noun
often attribEtymology: Old French bargaigne negotiation, haggling, from bargaignier to haggle
1 : an agreement between parties that settles what each gives or receives (as a promise or performance) in a transaction between them —compare CONTRACT
2 a : something acquired by or as if by bargaining b : something whose value considerably exceeds its cost bargain purchase>

Main Entry: bargain
Function: intransitive verb
1 a : to negotiate over the terms of an agreement (as a contract) b : to engage in collective bargaining bargain with the union>
2 : to agree to certain terms or conditions : come to terms bargained with the store for a lower price> transitive verb : to convey according to a bargain bargain, sell, alien and confirm to the party of the second part, the following described property> —often used with sell in deeds to indicate that the conveyor is receiving consideration in exchange for the property

bargain

In addition to the idiom beginning with bargain, also see drive a bargain; into the bargain; make the best of it (a bad bargain); more than one bargained for; strike a bargain.

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