Cheap
/tʃiːp/noun
Inexpensive; low in price.
Did you know?The word is historically tied to trade and bargaining, not morality: in Old English it meant “purchase” or “bargain,” which is why it survives in old place names like Cheapside.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kaupaz
“trade, bargain, purchase”
Old English
OE
ċēap
“bargain, purchase, trade; later, price”
Old English
OE
ċēapian
“to buy, trade”
Middle English
ME
chepe
“price, bargain; later, inexpensive”
Modern English
English
cheap
“inexpensive; low in price”