from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Sell \Sell\ (s[e^]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Sold} (s[=o]ld); p.
pr. & vb. n. {Selling}.] [OE. sellen, sillen, AS. sellan,
syllan, to give, to deliver; akin to OS. sellian, OFries.
sella, OHG. sellen, Icel. selja to hand over, to sell, Sw.
s[aum]lja to sell, Dan. s[ae]lge, Goth. saljan to offer a
sacrifice; all from a noun akin to E. sale. Cf. {Sale}.]
1. To transfer to another for an equivalent; to give up for a
valuable consideration; to dispose of in return for
something, especially for money. It is the correlative of
buy.
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If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast,
and give to the poor. --Matt. xix.
21.
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I am changed; I'll go sell all my land. --Shak.
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Note: Sell is corellative to buy, as one party buys what the
other sells. It is distinguished usually from exchange
or barter, in which one commodity is given for another;
whereas in selling the consideration is usually money,
or its representative in current notes.
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2. To make a matter of bargain and sale of; to accept a price
or reward for, as for a breach of duty, trust, or the
like; to betray.
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You would have sold your king to slaughter. --Shak.
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3. To impose upon; to trick; to deceive; to make a fool of;
to cheat. [Slang] --Dickens.
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{To sell one's life dearly}, to cause much loss to those who
take one's life, as by killing a number of one's
assailants.
{To sell} (anything) {out}, to dispose of it wholly or
entirely; as, he had sold out his corn, or his interest in
a business.
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