cheap

== English == === Alternative forms === chap, chop (dialectal) ch3ap (filter-avoidance spelling) === Etymology === As a noun, from Middle English chep, from Old English cēap (“trade, market, value”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaup. As a verb, from Middle English chepen, from Old English ċēapian (“to buy, bargain, trade”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaupōn, from Proto-Germanic *kaupōną, a verbal derivative of *kaupô (“trader”), from Latin caupō. The adjective originated as a shortening of Middle and Early Modern English good cheap, literally “good purchase” (as in “that was good cheap”, i.e. “that was [a] good purchase”). Compare Dutch goedkoop, French bon marché. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃiːp/, [ˈt͡ʃʰɪi̯p] Rhymes: -iːp Hyphenation: cheap Homophone: cheep (in dialects with meet-meat merger) === Adjective === cheap (comparative cheaper, superlative cheapest) Low or reduced in price. Synonyms: inexpensive; affordable; (attributive) bargain; good value; see also Thesaurus:cheap Antonyms: expensive, dear (chiefly Commonwealth English), costly, pricey; see also Thesaurus:expensive Of poor quality. Synonyms: low-quality, shoddy; see also Thesaurus:low-quality Hyponyms: flimsy, tinny Coordinate terms: basic, simple; primitive, naive; utilitarian, unadorned; crude, rough, mean, rude Of little worth. Synonym: unvaluable Antonyms: precious, valuable; invaluable, priceless Coordinate terms: valueless, worthless (slang, of an action or tactic in a game of skill) Underhanded or unfair. the cheap trick of hiding deadly lava under pushable blocks (informal, chiefly derogatory) Stingy; mean; excessively frugal. (finance) Trading at a price level which is low relative to historical trends, a similar asset, or (for derivatives) a theoretical value. Synonyms: undervalued, underpriced Antonyms: rich, overvalued, overpriced (computing) Taking little of system time or resources. ==== Usage notes ==== Because cheap is polysemically ambiguous, it is not always clear whether the intended meaning is inexpensive, poorly made, or both; apt word choice, with terms such as good value or shoddy, can clarify. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Cantonese: cheap (cip1) → Ido: chipa → Esperanto: ĉipa → Japanese: チープ (chīpu) → Malayalam: ചീപ്പ് (cīppŭ) → Maltese: ċip → Norwegian Bokmål: kjip → Norwegian Nynorsk: kjip, kip (pre-2005) →? Portuguese: (Brazil) xepa → Shona: -chipa → Chichewa: -tchipa →⇒ Tagalog: tsipipay, chipipay → Xhosa: tshiphu ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== Appendix:Fighting Game Terms === Noun === cheap (countable and uncountable, plural cheaps) (obsolete) Trade; traffic; chaffer; chaffering. (obsolete) A market; marketplace. (obsolete) Price. (obsolete) A low price; a bargain. (obsolete) Cheapness; lowness of price; abundance of supply. ==== See also ==== on the cheap === Verb === cheap (third-person singular simple present cheaps, present participle cheaping, simple past and past participle cheaped) (obsolete) (intransitive) To trade; traffic; bargain; chaffer; ask the price of goods; cheapen goods. (transitive) To bargain for; chaffer for; ask the price of; offer a price for; cheapen. (transitive) To buy; purchase. (transitive) To sell. ==== Usage notes ==== The use of cheap as a verb has been superseded by cheapen. ==== Derived terms ==== === Adverb === cheap (comparative more cheap, superlative most cheap) Cheaply. March 24 1658, John Milton, letter to Emeric Bigot I need not request you to purchase them as cheap as possible === References === === Anagrams === Peach, Pecha, chape, chapé, peach == Chinese == === Etymology === From English cheap. === Pronunciation === === Adjective === cheap (Cantonese, of people) stingy; mean; excessively frugal (Cantonese) cheap; low-priced; bearing poor quality === References === English Loanwords in Hong Kong Cantonese == Irish == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /çapˠ/ === Noun === cheap m lenited form of ceap === Verb === cheap past indicative analytic of ceap