| 释义 |
▪ I. price, n.|praɪs|
Main forms: 2–5 pris, 4–7 prise, 5– price: others see below.
[ME. a. OF. pris (mod.F. prix):—earlier *prieis (= Pr. pretz, Sp. prez, It. prezzo):—late L. precium, orig. pretium ‘price, value, wages, reward’; in OF. also ‘honour, praise, prize’. The long ī of ME. prīs was variously represented by ii, ij, iy, yi, y, ie, and indicated later by final e, prise; but to avoid the z sound of s between two vowels (cf. rise, wise), prise was changed to price (as in dice, mice, twice). The pl. had, sometimes at least, the z sound (cf. house, houses) and was commonly written prises, prizes in 16–17th c.; but though (ˈpraɪzɪz) is still common dialectally and with individuals, the standard pronunciation is now |ˈpraɪsɪz| after the sing., prices being thus distinguished from prizes. ME. pris had all the OF. senses ‘price, value, honour, prize, praise’; it first threw off the last of these, for which in 15th c. the n. preise, praise, was formed from the cognate vb. preisen, praise. During the last 300 years it has also thrown off the fourth sense, for which the by-form prize has been established. The sense ‘honour’ is obsolete, that of worth or value (‘a pearl of great price’) obs. or arch., so that price now retains only the primitive sense of OF. pris and L. pretium. See also praise n. and v., prize n. and v.]
A. Illustration of Forms.
(α) 2–5 pris (4 priis, priys, 4–5 prijs, prys, preis, 5 pryys, priss, -e, pries, 5–6 pryis, pryss).
a1225,c1250pris [see B. 7, 12]. c1250Hymn Virgin 6 in Trin. Coll. Hom. App. 255 Of alle wimmen þu hauest þet pris. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6635 A ryche man was sum tyme of prys. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 712 Þe mantels weren of michel priis. 13..Cursor M. 4613 (Gött.) Þu art sua mekil of prijs. Ibid. 16529 ‘Lo! here þe preis’, he said, ‘þat i gun for mi lauerd sell’. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 754 Quat-kyn of priys Berez þe perle so maskellez. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 21 Thai suld weill hawe pryss. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 328 Sette more priss bi a wrongful curs. 1382― Ezek. xxii. 25 Thei deuoureden soule, of the nedi man, and thei token priys. 1388Ibid., Thei token richesses and prijs [opes et pretium acceperunt]. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 31 Paide þe prys [v.r. pryys]. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 2924 Oft-sithes winnes ful litel pries. c1400St. Alexius (Laud) 92 She was..Louelich, & of gret prijs. a1400–50Alexander 4242 Mare passand of prisse þan all þi proude rewmes. c1470Henry Wallace ii. 2 In prys of armys. c1483Caxton Dialogues 26/20 At pris of viij. pens. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) vi. 32 Thocht gold gif grittar pryss.
(β) 4–7 prise (5–6 pryse, 6–8 (9 dial.) prize).
c1325Metr. Hom. 18 Another an honderet or the prise [rime penis]. 13..Cursor M. 6146 (Cott.) Clathes þat was o prise dere. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1143 Worldes riches of grete pryse. 1483Cath. Angl. 291/1 A Pryse of wodde, lucar. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 91 And all gude men he haldis in to pryse. 1599T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 75 Your new found stuffe, chaffred at highest prize. 1656Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. 333 Purchased..at the prise of much blood. 1707Reflex. upon Ridicule 213 Who..would, at any Prize, have Intimacies with the Great. 1886Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. s.v., ‘I baint gwain to gee no jis prize’ [such price]. 1888Sheffield Gloss., Prize, sb. the price, as of goods.
(γ) (4–7 pryce) 5– price.
13..Coer de L. (MS. a 1400) 395 To be bolde to wynne the pryce. c1425Cursor M. 10415 (Laud) This lady was of muche price [earlier MSS. pris, prise]. 1617Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems xxi. 44 Of highest pryce.
(δ) pl. 4– prices (4 -is, 6–7 pryces; 6 prises, 6–8 prizes).
1382Wyclif Acts iv. 34 Thei sellynge brouȝten to the prices [v.r. pris; 1388 pricis, v.r. priys] of tho thingis that thei solden. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 17 b, In Athenes the prices of all thynges was veray high. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 217 To buy or sell at the prises currant. 1627Hakewill Apol. (1630) 145 The high prizes of victuals. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. xi. 292 Thus the prices of Martyrs ashes rise and fall in Smithfield market. 1653Holcroft Procopius iii. 93 But Bessas..grew rich, hunger and necessity setting the prises for him. 1697T. Brown Dispensary ii. Wks. 1709 III. iii. 81 To settle what ought to be the Prizes of our Medicines. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 3 That the same goods should not be sold at two prices on the same day.
B. Signification.
I. Money, or the like, paid for something.
1. a. The money (or other equivalent) for which anything is bought or sold (or a thing or person ransomed or redeemed); the rate at which this is done or proposed; also, less usually, money paid as the equivalent of labour, wages; rate of wages.
a1300Cursor M. 15967 (Cott.) Moder, i haf mi maister sald..And in mi purs þe pris i bere. 1382[see A. δ]. 1388Wyclif Isa. xlv. 13 He schal delyuere my prisoneris not in prijs. 1433Rolls of Parlt. IV. 477/2 Uch of hem have..yerely xxvis. viiid. and a Robe pris of xs. 1461Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 308 To syll the whet iiii.d. undyr the comyn prys in every peke. 1481Caxton Godeffroy clxv. 244 To haue vytaylles at resonable prys. c1489― Sonnes of Aymon xxviii. 577, I wyll not reteyn you for that pryse that I do knaves, for I shall paye you in conscyence after the werke that ye shall doo. 1535Coverdale Zech. xi. 13 A goodly pryce for me to be valued at of them. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. v. 26 This making of Christians will raise the price of Hogs. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. i. 217 When as the Marchant thinketh that he cannot sell his goods at the prise currant. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 32 The common price of the Bagnio, is two Aspres to the Master. 1734Pope Ess. Man iv. 151 Is the reward of Virtue bread? That, Vice may merit, 'tis the price of toil. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman (1841) I. 202 She comes up to his price within half-a-crown a yard. 1828Ld. Grenville Sink. Fund 45 The farmer who has sold his wheat at its market price, has obtained for it neither more nor less than a just equivalent. 1885Manch. Exam. 10 Sept. 5/3 He is supplied..at a reduction of 40 per cent. on the trade price.
b. Pol. Econ. (See quots.)
1691Locke Lower. Interest Wks. 1727 II. 49 The Value or Price of any thing, being only the respective Estimate it bears to some other, which it comes in Competition with. 1757Jos. Harris Coins 94 What measures and pays the price of labour will be ultimately the real standard of the nation. 1776Adam Smith W.N. i. v. (1869) I. 31 The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it... Labour was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. Ibid. 34 Labour..is their real price; money is their nominal price only. 1848Mill Pol. Econ. iii. i. §2 Exchange value requires to be distinguished from Price... The most accurate modern writers..have employed Price to express the value of a thing in relation to money; the quantity of money for which it will exchange. 1862Ruskin Unto this Last iv. 136 The price of anything is the quantity of labour given by the person desiring it, in order to obtain possession of it. 1863Fawcett Pol. Econ. iii. i. 307 If the value of a commodity is estimated by comparing it with those precious metals which civilised countries employ as money, then it is said that the price, and not the value of a commodity is ascertained. 1868Rogers Pol. Econ. iii. (1876) 21 The price of an article..is its estimate in some one uniform measure. 1900Ld. Aldenham Colloquy on Currency ii. 31 Price..is the ratio..between the money-measure and the purchaseable commodity measured. Price is a Ratio, but it does not follow that a Ratio is always Price.
†c. Phr. in price with: in treaty to buy. Obs.
1621J. Reynolds God's Rev. agst. Murder i. i. 12 Buying a Iewell from her which she was in price with, of a Gold-Smyth at Dijon.
d. Payment of money in purchase of something. Obs. exc. in phr. without price = without payment, gratis, for nothing (arch.).
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 393 For welle niȝ alle her blessyngis ben sett to sale and to prise. 1611Bible Isa. lv. 1 Come, buy wine and milke without money, and without price. 16..Dryden (J.), Wisely make that kind of food thy choice, To which necessity confines thy price. 1745Scott. Paraphr. xxvi. i, Free to the Poor, Life's Waters flow, and bought without a Price. 1781Cowper Hope 496 Here see the encouragement Grace gives to vice, The dire effect of Mercy without price!
e. Reckoning or statement of the value; estimation of value: in such phrases as above price, beyond price, without price = so valuable that no definite price can be reckoned or stated; = priceless 1.
1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xxxii. 79 b, His girdell,..made of Golde and Stone that the same was aboue all price. a1674Traherne Innocence v. Poet. Wks. (1903) 13, I..had a Sight of Innocence, Which was beyond all bound and price. 1781Cowper Friendship 56 But will Sincerity suffice? It is indeed above all price, And must be made the basis. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 220 A robe Of samite without price..clung about her lissome limbs.
f. colloq. A high price.
1920‘K. Mansfield’ Bank Holiday in Athenæum 6 Aug. 166/1 He likes to watch..her puzzled eyes lifted to his: ‘Aren't they a price!’
2. A sum of money offered for the capture, apprehension, or death of a person. Usually in phr. to set (or put) a price on (the head of, etc.).
1766tr. Beccaria's Ess. Crimes xxv. (1793) 87 The law..sets a price on the head of the subject. 1842Penny Cycl. XXIII. 159/2 On the 6th of August [1745] a reward of 30,000l. was offered..to any person who should secure the eldest son of the Pretender... The prince having heard of the price put upon his person, issued a counter proclamation, offering 30,000l. for apprehending the elector of Hanover.
3. Betting. = odds 5.
1882Daily Tel. 30 Jan., Cyrus..made such light work of the Aintree Hunt Steeplechase in November that several people wanted to know his price. 1882Standard 6 Sept. 2/6 The starting price of Mr. Perkins's horse was 5 to 1. 1895Times 10 Jan. 3/3 The defendants and others made prices on the horses and shouted out the odds as upon a racecourse.
4. The amount of money, or other consideration, by which a man's support or interest may be purchased.
[13..K. Alis. 1489 (Bodl. MS.) Forto ben of his frenderade. Þe Romeynes hym sendeþ þis prise, And gretyng, and redy to his seruise. 1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 254 To procure his fauour for an election, either by petition, or price.] 1780Bentham Princ. Legisl. xiv. §8 note, It is a well-known adage, though it is to be hoped not a true one, that every man has his price. 1860J. W. Warter Sea-board II. 327 Amongst the lower orders most have their price. 1907Daily Chron. 27 Mar. 6/6 By the time Sir Robert Walpole arrived on the political scene it was possible for him to be credited with the now familiar saying, ‘Every man has his price’.
5. fig. What it costs to obtain some advantage; that which is given, surrendered, or undergone, for the sake of something else. Freq. in phr. at a price; also at any price: whatever it may cost, whatever loss or disadvantage is or may be entailed.
c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 169 The sleyghti fox..Takithe to his larder at what price he wold, Of gretter lambren, j., ij., or thre. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 223 Rosa. We can afford no more at such a price. Kin. Prise your selues: What buyes your companie? 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 775 They vse smokie fires in their rooms, almost with the price of their eyes sauing their skins. c1647Clarendon Hist. Rebellion (1703) II. vii. 189 So much enamoured on Peace, that he would have been glad, the King should have bought it at any price. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. lxxv. 308 He determined to bring his design to pass at any price whatsoever. 1755Young Centaur vi. Wks. 1757 IV. 253 The lowest price of virtue is vigilance, and industry; and if it costs us no more, it comes very cheap. 1849Thackeray Pendennis I. xiii. 118 He's too young for you..and..poor as Job. Can't have him at no price, can she Mr. Bo? 1859B. Jerrold Wit & Opinions D. Jerrold 155 We love peace, as we abhor pusillanimity; but not peace at any price. 1866R. W. Dale Disc. Spec. Occas. v. 164 We know at how great a price our inheritance of truth has been purchased. 1873C. M. Yonge Pillars of House I. xi. 230 Mr. Froggatt says he would not go at any price. 1923R. Fry Let. 29 Apr. (1972) II. 533 The British public won't have me at any price. 1928A. Christie Mystery of Blue Train xxi. 172 I'm going to leave you... I can't stand my father-in-law at any price. 1934G. B. Shaw On Rocks Pref. 177, I am not offering you the truth at a price for my own profit. 1961L. Mumford City in Hist. xvii. 544 The machines..that would lend themselves to decentralization in a life-centered order, here become either a means to increase congestion or afford some slight temporary palliation—at a price. 1974J. Pope-Hennessy R. L. Stevenson viii. 151 Louis Stevenson had stipulated..that he would not at any price stay in a hotel..but wished to live in a house. 1978‘W. Haggard’ Poison People iv. 144 It's..illegal to hold it [sc. gold] in quantity. I don't say bullion can't be found at a price.
6. what price―?: what is the value or use of ―?, what is the likelihood of ―? Freq. merely an expression of contempt: ‘so much for ―’.
1893P. H. Emerson Signor Lippo xiv. 52 What price you, when you fell off the scaffold? 1895H. W. Nevinson Neighbours of Ours iii. 73 What price the little backstairs Dook? 1899R. Whiteing No. 5 John St. ix. 94 What price grammar? It don't seem to teach people to keep a civil tongue in their 'ead. 1905E. Nesbit Oswald Bastable 93 Oswald now thought that politeness was satisfied..so he said: ‘What price treasures?’ 1907G. B. Shaw Major Barbara ii. 245 Bill (cynically..) Wot prawce Selvytion nah? 1914C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iv. ix. 1114 It's all very nice for you to be so calm. But what price its being my watch that's lost, not yours, old sport? 1920D. H. Lawrence Women in Love i. 10 ‘What price the stockings?’ said a voice at the back of Gudrun. 1930R. Lehmann Note in Music vii. 301 But what price jaunts on Sundays—eh? 1959M. Gilbert Blood & Judgement xvi. 164 Quick work... What price the law's delays. 1973‘B. Graeme’ Two & Two make Five iv. 31 What price himself to replace Perkins, he asked himself with cynical amusement. 1977New Scientist 12 May 336 (heading) What price Australian uranium?
II. Value, worth. Obs. or arch.
7. a. Preciousness, value, worth; the quality or condition of being (much or little) prized, valued, or esteemed. Usually with qualifying adj., as great, much, dear, high; little; some, no, etc. (See also 8 a, and cf. 9.) arch.
a1225Ancr. R. 290 Dem þerefter pris, & beo on hire þe deorre. 13..Cursor M. 29040 (Cott. Galba) Fasting es of ful grete prise. 1382Wyclif Luke xii. 7 Ȝe ben of more priys then many sparowis. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (1483) iv. ix. 62 The prys of myn Appel is of suche valewe. 1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 159 The place was at the first of little price. 1611Bible Matt. xiii. 46 One pearle of great price [Wyclif oo preciouse margarite; Tindale, Great, Rheims, one precious pearle]. 1690Locke Hum. Und. Ded., Trial and examination must give it [truth] price. 1703T. N. City & C. Purchaser 58 To them Method and Confusion are both of a Price. 1872Blackie Lays Highl. 92 Like some old creed Erect, to show what price it had before When men believed it had a power indeed.
†b. Personal or social worth; excellency, honourableness. Obs. (See also 8 b.)
c1250Gen. & Ex. 2690 Riche maiden of michel pris. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 281 An doȝter..of gret pris noble & god al so. a1300Cursor M. 436 Þai all war fair and wis And sum of less and sum mare pris. c1475Sqr. lowe Degre 417 To watche that lady, muche of pryce, And her to kepe fro her enemyes. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccclxxiii. 616 Two barownes of great prise and hardynesse. 1608Bp. Hall Char. Virtues & V. i. 47 Those orphans which neuer knew the price of their father; they become the heires of his affection.
†8. of price (adj. phr.): of great value, worth, or excellence. (Often passing into sense 9 or 10: Highly esteemed or regarded; famous, renowned.) Obs.
a. Of things: Precious, valuable.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 2700 He carf in two gummes of pris, Two likenesses so grauen & meten. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 716 A fair pocok of pris. c1386Chaucer Sir Thopas 186 Men speken of Romances of prys Of Hornchild and of Ypotys. c1400Destr. Troy 13712 In aparell of prise, on a proud wyse..In his palais of prise prudly he leuyt. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. iii. 100 Happie Newes of price. 1615G. Sandys Trav. 11 Faire pillars of marble..and other stones of price. 1775Burke Sp. Conc. Amer. Wks. III. 124 Freedom is..the commodity of price of which you have the monopoly.
†b. Of persons: Worthy, excellent. Obs.
1303[see A. α]. 1307Elegy Edw. I, iv, With fourscore knyhtes al of pris. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 168 Kniȝtes to hauen & holden of pris. c1400Destr. Troy 1693 Mykell pepull of prise & proude men of Armys. c1430Hymns Virg. 53 Horible deuelis of helle, Þat sumtyme were aungils of prijs. 1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 26 Men of price and renomme. c1554Interlude of Youth B j b, I can spede the of a seruaunte of pryce That wildo the good seruice.
†9.
a. Sense or estimate of worth; esteem, estimation, regard. Chiefly in phrases: to have or hold in (great, etc.) price, to set at (light, little) price, to have or hold (great, little) price of, to set or tell (much, little, no) price of or by, later to put or set (high, little, no) price upon; also (without defining word) to have or hold in price, to hold or tell price of, to set price by: to value or esteem highly. in (much, some, etc.) price: esteemed, valued (much, somewhat, etc.); also (without defining word) in price: highly esteemed, thought much of. Obs.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 292 He saȝ Adam and eue in mike[l] pris. c1300Beket 150 Ech man tolde of him pris that him miȝte iseo. c1386Chaucer Frankl. T. 206 Wel biloued and holden in greet prys. 1429Rolls of Parlt. IV. 345/2 Setting no price by your saide Prive Seal. c1440Generydes 35 Shuld sette hyr wurchippe atte so litill prise. 1526Tindale Heb. xiii. 4 Let wedlocke be had in pryce in all poyntes. 1581W. Stafford Exam. Compl. i. (1876) 25 They fall to those sciences that they see in some pryce. 1594Willobie Avisa (1635) 120 Her vertue shall be had in prise. 1601F. Godwin Bps. of Eng. 444 Perceiuing the monkes onely were now in price, and other cleargy men little esteemed. 1662H. More Philos. Writ. Pref. Gen. (1712) 11 Where men have an over-proportion'd Zeal for or against such things in Religion as God puts little or no price upon.
†b. Valuation, appraisement. Obs. rare.
1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 183 Cæsars no Merchant, to make prize with you Of things that Merchants sold. 1611― Cymb. iii. vi. 77 Would..they Had bin my Fathers Sonnes, then had my prize Bin lesse, and so more equall ballasting To thee Posthumus.
III. Leading up to praise. Obs. in this form.
†10. General recognition of excellence; honour, glory, renown. Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 66 Heo hunteð efter pris, & keccheð lastunge. a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1161 Gret loos hath Largesse, and gret prys. c1380Sir Ferumb. 467 Þoȝ y slowe þe her in fiȝt, what prys were þat for me? Men wolde sayn y were to blame. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. cxxviii, That wil be to the grete worschip and prise. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cciv. 240 Certayne yonge knyghtes and squyers to get prise in armes..iusted one with another. 1600Holland Livy i. xxxvii. 27 In this conflict the horse⁓men won greatest price and praise [L. gloria].
†11.
a. The verbal expression of one's recognition of worth or excellence; = praise n. 1. Obs. (Survived longer in the north.)
a1240Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 205 Prude & wilnunge of pris. c1320Sir Tristr. 1340 Of ysoude þan spekeþ he, Her prise, Hou sche was gent and fre. c1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 1536 (1585) To preisin a man & vp with pris hem reise A þousent fold ȝit heyȝere þan þe sunne. 1390Gower Conf. III. 225 The king..hem axeth this, What king men tellen that he is..touchende his name, Or be it pris, or be it blame. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxxviii, Of quhom [the gods], In laud and prise, With thankfull hert I say richt In this wise. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 14922 Whan he herde the prys was more Off Davyd than off hym-sylff, allas! 1567Satir. Poems Reform. v. 3 Gif to that leuing Lord all pryse.
†b. a price, aprys: so as to gain praise or approval; laudably. Obs. rare—1.
c1400Langl.'s P. Pl. C. xv. 194 + 1 (MS.S) Iob was a paynym & plesede god a prys.
IV. Leading up to prize n.1 Obs. in this form.
†12. The position of excelling others; place of honour; first or highest place; pre-eminence. Usually in phr. to bear or have the price, to have the pre-eminence, to surpass all others. Obs.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 326 A tre..ðat ouer alle oðre bereð pris. 1390Gower Conf. III. 298 Receive he scholde a certein mede And in the cite bere a pris. c1430Syr Tryam. 1692 A lorde..That beryth the pryce in prees. c1450Lovelich Grail xliii. 222 Of konnenge hadde he not þe pris. 1470–85Malory Arthur ix. xix. 366 Of goodely harpynge he bereth the pryce in the world. 1540R. Hyrde tr. Vives' Instr. Chr. Wom. (1592) B vj, All..by one assent gaue her the price of goodnesse and chastity. 1573New Custom ii. ii. in Hazl. Dodsley III. 28 All these bear the price.
†13. The position of excelling in a match or struggle; superiority, victory. Obs.
1307Elegy Edw. I, xi, In much bataille thou hadest pris. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 67 Alle þe day þei fauht, at euen he had þe pris. 1470–85Malory Arthur v. x. 178, I had leuer to haue ben torn with wylde horses, than ony..page or pryker shold haue had prys on me. 1494Fabyan Chron. vi. clxix. 162 Fynally the Danys wan the pryce, and slewe bothe the foresayde kynges. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxv. 726 If y⊇ flemynges had achyued the prise ouer them. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 160 Tethrippo had gotten the price & chief maisterie at Olympia.
†14. The symbol, trophy, or reward of victory or superiority (Fr. le prix); = prize n.1, which see for examples. Obs.
V.
15. attrib. and Comb., as price-boom, price-boost, price control (so price-controlled adj.), price freeze, price hike, price-history, price-issue, price-level, price-maintenance (so price-maintain vb. trans., price-maintained ppl. adj.) price-making (make v.1 13 e), price raiser, price range, price-reduction, price-regulation, price review, price rise, price-wave; price-conscious, price-deciding, price-enhancing, price-ruling, price-sensitive adjs.; price-cutting, the action of ‘cutting down’ or lowering prices, esp. in or by way of competition; so price-cutter; hence (as a back-formation) price-cut vb. intr. and trans.; also price cut n.; price discrimination, the action of charging different prices to different customers for the same goods or services; price–earnings ratio (see quot. 1965); price elasticity (see quot. 1971); hence price-elastic adj.; price-fixing, the action of introducing a fixed or standard price for something esp. by agreement between manufacturers; also attrib.; hence (as a back-formation) price-fix vb. trans., price-fixed ppl. adj.; price-gouging, the action of increasing prices by large amounts at once; price index, an index showing the variation in the prices of a set of goods, etc., since a chosen base period; also (with hyphen) attrib.; price leader orig. U.S., a dominant firm that determines the prices within an industry; hence price leadership; also price-leading ppl. adj.; price-list, (a) a list of the prices of commodities offered for sale; (b) a list of the ‘prices’ or odds in betting; price-mark, a mark upon goods indicating the price; price movement, a fluctuation in price; price ring, an association of traders formed to control certain prices; price-slashing, price-cutting by large amounts; so price-slasher; price stop, a ban on price increases; price support, assistance in maintaining price levels regardless of supply or demand; price system (quot. 1968); price tab U.S., a bill; price-tag, a tag or ticket attached to something and bearing an indication of its price; also fig.; hence as v. trans. and price-tagging vbl. n.; price ticket = price-tag; price war, intense competition among traders by price-cutting. Also price-current.
1928Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) iv. xx. 268 The rapid industrial slump which followed the *price-boom of 1919–20.
1961Wall St. Jrnl. 23 Jan. 2/2 A *price-boost might well be delayed until mid⁓summer. 1974News & Press (Darlington, S. Carolina) 25 Apr. 8/6 Both business men and consumers are fearful that the lifting of economic controls will set off new waves of price and wage boosts.
1961Wall St. Jrnl. 4 Oct. 1 Farmers aren't as *price conscious as last year, so we can get more money on a sale. 1963Economist 20 July 281/1 The price-conscious professional classes. 1974Country Life 28 Nov. 1662/1 From the price-conscious north I have news of good stocking fillers.
1914Automobile Topics 12 Dec. 321 (caption) Ford loses *price control suit. 1936Discovery Apr. 128/1 He waxes..mildly indignant over price-control of new metals by monopolies. 1944Sun (Baltimore) 6 Oct. 13/5 Price control clinics, manned by officers and enlisted men, to hear reports from GIs on instances of overcharging, were ordered established. 1955T. H. Pear Eng. Social Differences 184 The freeing of both tea and coffee from price-control. 1974Listener 3 Oct. 422/3 The attempted price controls..have been far too severe.
1948Hansard Commons 5 Mar. (Written Answers) 105 Mr. J. Morrison asked..What are the wholesalers' and retailers' margin of profit allowed on..such household goods as are *price controlled. 1976Sci. Amer. Nov. 138/2 Of its two million citizens more than 12,000 were dead of the flu and its concomitant pneumonia by the middle of November, against a macabre background of military embalmers and a price-controlled quick-coffin industry.
1925Wireless Dealer I. ii. 259/1 The retailer who is given a big discount must not *price-cut to the public. 1928Publishers' Weekly 30 June 2596 If turnover is secured by price cuts which decrease the normal profit [etc.]. 1957Chem. & Engin. News 1 Apr. 28/2 In the chemical industry it is impossible to tell in advance whether a price cut may at some time in the future ‘tend substantially to reduce competition’. 1964Financial Times 31 Jan. 1/2 The..Adsega supermarket chain..has been price-cutting cigarettes. 1965Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. v. 554 The assumption of the publishers was that ‘best sellers’ would be price-cut.
1901N.Y. Publ. Wkly. in Publ. Circ. 14 Sept. 243/1 This firm..have great difficulty in maintaining their reputation as *price-cutters on net books. 1967Economist 4 Mar. 845/1 The steady erosion of prices that followed the arrival of the price-cutters. 1969D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. iv. 89 Even if several firms do follow the price cutter..price cutting may still be attractive.
1899Pall Mall G. 11 Oct. 5/3 *Price Cutting in the Cycle Trade. 1929Times 2 Nov. 7/5 That could only be done with the abolition of the suicidal policy of price-cutting and competition. 1962E. Godfrey Retail Selling & Organization i. 6 Price-cutting and the widespread introduction of supermarkets have made competition very difficult to meet. 1974‘G. Black’ Golden Cockatrice ii. 32 I'll fight a price-cutting war by matched price-cutting.
1784Cowper Task vi. 291 Oft as the *price-deciding hammer falls.
1957Clark & Gottfried University Dict. Business & Finance (1967) 276 When the purpose or result of such *price discrimination is to reduce competition or to injure competitors, either of the seller or the buyer, it is illegal under the anti-trust laws. 1969D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. iv. 83 We were considering a special case of price discrimination... We supposed that the producer was in the most favourable of all situations and could charge a different price to each individual consumer. 1974News & Courier (Charleston, S. Carolina) 25 Apr. 17-c/2 White failed to show International was guilty of breach of contract and price discrimination.
1961Dallas Morning News 9 Apr. iv. 1 Foods, which long had been considered ‘recession resistant’ but hardly dynamic stocks, have been acting like growth stocks, going to higher *price–earnings ratios. 1965McGraw-Hill Dict. Mod. Econ. 390 Price-earnings ratio, the current market price of a company's stock expressed as a multiple of the company's per-share earnings. It is computed by dividing the annual per-share earnings of a company into the market-value of its stock. For example, if company A's stock is selling at $100 per share and the company earned $5 per share, the price–earnings ratio is 20. 1968Newsweek 25 Nov. 91/2 Other stocks may continue to show solid earnings growth but then they become overexploited. Investors simply bid too high for them. This shows up in the price–earnings ratio. 1972Observer 22 Oct. 15/3 A couple of dark clouds... One is the sky-high price-earnings ratio of your stock.
1964Economist 15 Feb. 620/2 The argument that books are *price-elastic. 1967Times Rev. Industry Mar. 16/1 This company clearly believes that shoe demand is price elastic. 1976P. R. White Planning for Public Transport vi. 127 Weekend and day return fares..relate to trips such as shopping and visiting friends, demand for which is more price-elastic.
1952T. W. Hutchinson tr. Schneider's Pricing & Equilibrium i. 23 We can measure the reaction of the quantity demanded to changes in price, when all other prices and income remain constant, by the *price elasticity. 1971J. A. Perrow Econ. i. 17 Price elasticity may be defined as the responsiveness of demand for a good to a small change in its price. 1976P. R. White Planning for Public Transport viii. 157 The non-business market. Here, the time and price elasticities are almost the reverse.
c1760Hogarth in Hilda Gamlin Romney (1894) 24 Let the picture rust, Perhaps Time's *price-enhancing dust..may mark its worth.
1949Time 25 July 24/2 In the past, prices had been held down by a combination of price fixing and subsidies. Bread was *price fixed, so were cooking oils [etc.].
1933K. T. Langguth Financial Dict.: Eng.-German 186 *Price-fixed. 1949Consumer Reports Aug. 344/1 Places to buy price-fixed merchandise at less than the established price. 1971‘E. McBain’ Hail, Hail, Gang's all Here ii. 183 That apartment's price-fixed... If he gets out, they can put a new tenant in and legally raise the rent.
1920Argus (Melbourne) 4 June 6 Competition will reduce prices in time, but *price-fixing..will only arrest the tendency to cheapness. 1930Economist 15 Feb. 352/2 Rationalisation must also be distinguished from price-fixing associations or cartels. 1965Spectator 26 Feb. 251/1 The price of whisky and gin was slashed following the end of price-fixing. 1973Country Life 29 Nov. 1773/3 This 20-year-old price-fixing procedure [for Champagne] comes to an end in 1975.
1958Times Rev. Industry Feb. 106/2 Those whose task it was to determine relaxations of the *price-freeze. 1978Ld. Hailsham Dilemma of Democracy xix. 122 Inflation has led to a demand either for a price freeze, or a wage freeze or both.
1967Guardian 5 Aug. 7 Negro housewives..are the victims of *price-gouging in the neighbourhood shops..owned by whites. 1974Aiken (S. Carolina) Standard 22 Apr. 1-b/2 Each wage demand that is not balanced against productivity and each incident of price gouging motivated by greed help perpetuate the inflation cycle. 1977Times 8 Aug. 42/3 This week the agency will open an investigation of alleged price gouging on fuel oil used in home heating; one consumer group is claiming the FEA permitted oil companies to overcharge by $2 billion last year.
1948,1968*Price hike [see hike n. 2]. 1977Rolling Stone 24 Mar. 16/2 Industry spokespersons tend to cite increased costs on every level when explaining the dollar price-hike.
1900Westm. Gaz. 4 Jan. 7/3 The *Price History of the Stock. 1902Ibid. 18 Feb. 11/1 An introduction, a price-history of the market.
1886*Price index [see index n. 9 e]. 1930Economist 5 Apr. 763/1 The Economist price index has fallen during the past two years much more heavily than price indices in certain other countries on the gold standard. 1930W. K. Hancock Australia ix. 184 The Statistician's price-index numbers. 1954M. Beresford Lost Villages vi. 183 It cannot be said that our price-indexes are yet near prefection. 1954E. H. Carr Interregnum 77 A price-index issued by the labour section of the Moscow Soviet for the calculation of wages in Moscow. 1973Price index [see index n. 9 e].
1885Pall Mall G. 13 May 5/2 Some of the borrowers will..find it necessary to be generous in their *price issue when so many are in the field.
1936A. R. Burns Decline of Competition iii. 77 The United States Steel Corporation is more frequently classified as a *price leader than any other American corporation. 1962Economist 13 Jan. 151/2 The International Nickel Company of Canada..is the acknowledged price leader.
1936A. R. Burns Decline of Competition iii. 76 *Price leadership exists when the price at which most of the units in an industry offer to sell is determined by adopting the price announced by one of their number. 1979Internat. Jrnl. Sociol. of Law May 133 For price leadership to work, the price leader must have close to the largest share of the market.
1961New Left Rev. July–Aug. 5/2 In Italy, each of the industrial sectors is dominated by a single, *price-leading firm.
1927Bowley & Stamp Nat. Income 1924 58 On account of the change in *price-level, we should substitute a comparative level of {pstlg}9,500, [etc.]. 1940Economist 13 Jan. 53/1 Voluntary negotiation..can only result in a welter of independent wage decisions in different industries, each bearing a different relation to the general price level. 1972Accountant 19 Oct. 485/2 Differences between financial statements prepared along the alternative bases of current-value and price-level accounting.
1872Young Englishwoman Dec. 662/3 Will you be so kind as to send a *price-list of the combs and hair-pins. 1915W. Owen Let. 8 Jan. (1967) 313 What my friend advised me to do is get price-lists and samples from England immediately. 1973Sat. Rev. Society (U.S) May 68/1 A list of catalogs or ‘price lists’, of items stocked by the Government Printing Office.
1960Guardian 10 Dec. 9/6 The intending signatories agreed..that they would *price maintain their vehicles. 1964Financial Times 31 Jan. 1/2 More price-maintained lines would be added to their lists of reductions. 1968Times 29 Nov. p. iv/4 Since they are still price-maintained it is not possible for retailers to cut prices, though in recent years budget labels have emerged.
1930Economist 13 Sept. 483/1 The *price-maintenance scheme is ultimately financed by the Reich. 1965Mod. Law Rev. XXVIII. v. 552 Fifty years have now passed since the head of a well-known department store, in opposing enactment of a general price-maintenance law, told a Congressional Committee [etc.]. 1969D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. xiv. 297 Is there a well-established (and legal) tradition of price maintenance?
1632Lithgow Trav. x. 439 [Let him beware] the eating of Victuals, and drinking of Wine without *price making; least (when he hath done)..his charges be redoubled.
1901Wide World Mag. VI. 491/1 The children left Port Darwin with new boots, and when they returned the *price-marks were not even rubbed off the soles.
1934Discovery Sept. 245/2 They [sc . the farmers] have the advantage of being able to hear things that should be known at once to them: such as *price movements, weather reports, harvest conditions and prospects. 1948G. Crowther Outl. Money (rev. ed.) iii. 95 This is one way in which price movements have a direct causal effect on the level of production and employment. 1965J. Meuvret in Glass & Eversley Population in Hist. xxi. 517 Here again, however, price-movements can afford some illumination.
1906‘Mark Twain’ Autobiogr. (1924) II. 24 That congregation's real estate stands at a low figure. What they are anxious to have now..is a *price-raiser. 1965Punch 7 July 2/1 George Brown's challenge to price-raisers to justify themselves.
1925Ladies' Home Jrnl. May 146/2 *Price ranges from 25c to 45c. 1937M. Hillis Orchids on your Budget (1938) iii. 46 Another good rule is not to attempt to have everything come within the same price range. 1973D. Westheimer Going Public i. 15 The fact that so much of your business is in the lowest price-range has its positive side... You'll find your bread-and-butter business is in the lower price-range.
1919J. M. Keynes Econ. Consquences Peace vi. 225 The effect on foreign trade of *price-regulation and profiteer-hunting as cures for inflation is even worse. 1935Economist 12 Oct. 704/1 This shortage..is largely a consequence of planning and price-regulation. 1959Chambers's Encycl. XI. 195/2 Price-regulation was in existence in Babylonia as early as the middle of the third millennium B.C.
1960Farmer & Stockbreeder 22 Mar. 78/3 On Wednesday, representatives of the Branch met seven Conservative M.P.s at the House of Commons..when there was a long and useful discussion about many aspects of the White Paper and the *Price Review. 1969Times 6 Jan. 7/7 In spite of occasional controversy, especially before annual price reviews, the overall impression one gets of the past 10 years is one of fair stability.
1928Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inquiry) ii. viii. 97 The majority of cartels and *price rings fall under the category of Trade Associations..and not under that of Public Companies or Corporations. 1957Observer 1 Dec. 1/4 This is no moment..for a price ring designed to keep prices up, or restrictive principles to prevent them going down.
1965M. Hilton tr. J. Meuvret in Glass & Eversley Pop. in Hist. xxi. 511 The *price-rise..can be explained..by bad harvests. 1977Times 4 Oct. 15/2 Price rises are still at an unacceptable level.
1890Spectator 23 Aug., Wheat..is still pre-eminently the *price-ruling grain.
1966Economist 3 Dec. 1046/1 In the *price-sensitive group of semi-manufacturers, the bigger impact was on imports of textiles, paper and, above all, iron and steel. 1976Scotsman 24 Dec. 3/7 Dunford and Prudential were justified in passing on information of a ‘price-sensitive’ character to their institutional shareholders, as potential underwriters.
1964Punch 11 Mar. 377/3 John Bloom..is a notorious *price-slasher.
1930Publisher's Circular 14 June 793/3 The economic and cultural consequences of reckless *price-slashing. 1940Economist 28 Dec. 799/1 The ‘price-stop order’, designed to prevent war⁓time increases in prices, has been reinforced several times by stricter penalties; but it has not been possible to prevent some rise in prices. 1950Ann. Reg. 1949 244 A price stop was placed on certain essential commodities.
1949Sun (Baltimore) 10 Sept. 11/4 Corn from this year's crop is expected to move into Government hands under *price-support programs to join more than 400,000,000 bushels remaining there from the 1948 crop. 1957M. Swan Brit. Guiana 95 Price support has come in the form of the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement. 1965J. L. Hanson Dict. Econ. 326/1 Price Support. The U.S. Government's method of giving assistance to farmers. Prices are fixed well above the equilibrium level and so output cannot be completely disposed of on the market, the U.S. Government agreeing to purchase at the fixed prices any surpluses resulting from this policy.
1962M. McLuhan Gutenberg Galaxy 118 Complex markets, *price-systems, and commercial empires. 1968P. A. S. Taylor Dict. Econ. Terms (ed. 4) 85 Price system. This is an economic system in which prices are determined by the forces of the market. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XIV. 1004/2 A price system weighs the desires of consumers in terms of the prices they are willing to pay for various quantities of each commodity or service.
1949Sun (Baltimore) 12 Sept. 1/8 A big victory for labor in the board's belief that companies should pick up the *price tab on pensions.
1881Harper's Mag. Sept. 587/1 Untying a little green *price tag from the handle of the umbrella. 1888Chautauquan VIII. 422 Accordingly they attached ‘etiquettes’, or price-tags, to their articles. 1942D. Powell Time to be Born (1943) iv. 97 Vicky was uncomfortably aware of Miss Finkelstein's eagle eye putting price tags on her suit, her hair, her shoes. 1951Sport 30 Mar. 7/2 When I remember what a record transfer-fee price-tag did to Bryn Jones.., I can only sympathise with you. 1961L. van der Post Heart of Hunter ii. viii. 123 Though no price-tag could be put on them [sc. protected animals], we knew our lives would be immeasurably poorer without them. 1971C. Fick Danziger Transcript (1973) 20 Your uniform smells as though the price tags are still on it. 1972Countryman Winter 61 These faceless experts make an attempt to price-tag the social benefit of forestry. 1974W. Foley Child in Forest ii. 159 She price-tagged them by instinct. 1977Offshore Engineer July 14/2 The NEB says that ‘the project is likely to incur a 20–30% cost overrun’ on the $8,000 million price tag it currently sees as realistic.
1972Straits Times (Malaysian ed.) 23 Nov. 6/5 Encik Khir chaired the meeting which was held to resolve the problems facing shopkeepers over *price-tagging. 1977Daily Times (Lagos) 11 Jan. 17/2 Given the low level of enlightenment in the country, the intransigence of Nigerians to any government directive, price tagging was born with a lot of problems which have so far retarded its success.
1934Archit. Rev. LXXVI. 27/2 A well-lettered *price-ticket, decorative value apart, is more desirable than a label covered with hieroglyphics. 1957P. Worsley Trumpet shall Sound viii. 159 Natives..tore the price-tickets off the goods.
1930Economist 22 Mar. 652/2 Experience shows that this group invariably emerges from a *price-war with a stronger hold on the oil markets than before. 1969D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. iv. 74 A market which is free from the dangers of occasional, or continual, price cutting or even major price wars. 1977Times 6 Aug. 3/1 A tea price war began yesterday as packers ordered cuts after auction prices fell.
1891G. Clare Money-Market Primer 89 At all times some semblance of agreement is traceable between the respective *price-waves.
▸ price buster n. colloq. (orig. U.S.) (a) a retailer, business, etc., that substantially reduces (or occas.: inflates) the price of an item or commodity; a person or measure effecting a large reduction (or occas.: increase) in price; (b) an item or commodity selling at a reduced (occas.: increased or inflated) price (also in extended use).
1909N.Y. Times 3 Jan. s4 (advt.) A well known manufacturer recently described Mr. Ford as the ‘*price buster’, and that fits him. Every reduction in automobile price has been forced by Ford. 1927Frederick (Md.) Post 5 Apr. 7/1 (advt.) This is a real price buster at 60c. 1977Aviation Week 6 June 112/1 Champion price-buster so far in 1977 is tungsten, which has ballooned 30% in price since February. 1984Canad. Business Aug. 17/2 (heading) Pricebuster: how the boys at the Brick honed the fine art of discount marketing. 1990Independent 23 June 41/4 A new job away from the area is another price-buster. The new poll tax rules mean owners will pay a double charge. 1996Motoring & Leisure Feb. 68 A real price buster that enables you to stock up your wardrobe. 2001Seattle Post-Intelligencer 2 Feb. 4 Like the menu, the moderately sized wine list is short on price-buster specials.
▸ price point n. Marketing (orig. and chiefly U.S.) a retail price, selected from the range of available or established prices as that most liable to attract consumers and ensure profitability.
1894Denton (Md.) Jrnl. 21 Apr. 2/2 Women's Capes... More than five hundred styles of them, reaching up to—almost any *price point you please. 1900J. A. Hobson Econ. of Distribution iv. 127 The subjective valuations of a single owner and a single tenant..fix the limits for the price of a unit.., the stronger of the two fixing the price-point. 1935H. J. Davenport Econ. A. Marshall iv. 103 With any particular purchase the surplus must be, one thinks, computed from the actual price point. 1977New Yorker 6 June 95/1 He has to calculate whether..he will be able to sell the merchandise at a price point that is attractive to his customers—‘price point’ being a phrase that was perhaps best defined for me by someone who explained that three hundred and ninety-nine dollars is a price point and four hundred and twelve dollars is not. 2000Red Herring Feb. 72/1 One final leverage point for business models of online companies is value matching, in which sellers and buyers—whether businesses or consumers—arrive at a mutually satisfactory price point.
▪ II. † price, prise, a. Obs.
Forms: 4–5 pris, (4 priis, prijs, 4–5 prys, 5 pryss); 4–5 price, pryce; pryse; 4–7 prise.
[attrib. use of prec. n., from the phrase of price, OF. de pris; thus roi de pris ‘kyng of pris’ or ‘pris king’.]
A general term of appreciation: Worthy, excellent, valiant, eminent, prime, choice.
13..Coer de L. 4300 A mangenel..To the prys tour a ston gan sende. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 161 As prest as þe pris king sai his pres stinte. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 261 Iohan..Þe prys nete of Piers plow. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 79 Þis citee [Chester] haþ plente of..pris salmoun [orig. salmonis optimi]. a1400Morte Arth. 355 Send prekers to þe price toune, and plaunte there my segge. c1400Destr. Troy 6010 And Paris the prise with pepull ynogh. Ibid. 9111 There were plenty of pepull, prise men & noble. c1450Merlin ii. 220 So dide well thoo prise knyghtes in her companye, and also the knyghtes of the rounde table. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxxiv, Tho had euery English batayll 11 winges of pris archiers. 1615R. Brathwait Strappado, etc. (1878) 292 More prise and richer than those sisters three, Which kept the apples of faire Hespery.
b. absol. The most excellent; the chief.
c1330Amis & Amil. 137 Ouer al the lond than were thai priis. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 1614 A prophete of þat prouince & pryce of þe worlde. c1394P. Pl. Crede 256 Þe prijs of popes at Rome, And of gretest degre. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvi. lxxxvii. (Bodl. MS.), Smaragdus is pris of alle grene preciouse stones. c1400Destr. Troy 8954 Palomydon for prise þe pert kynges toke.
▪ III. price, v.|praɪs|
Also 6 pryce.
[A later variant of the earlier prise, of which prize v.1 is the direct modern representative. The regular forms of n. and vb. after 1400 were prīs (prȳs, pryce), price n., and prise, prize vb. (cf. device, devise; advice, advise). In the verb, price is a new form, assimilated to the n., and used in the literal sense, while prize has become more or less fig. For the full history see prize v.; the following instances illustrate this special form, which hardly appears before the 16th c., and was cited by Johnson in 1773 only in the Spenserian instance in sense 2. In many parts of England to prize is still said instead. Cf. also apprise v.2]
1. a. trans. To set the selling price to, to fix the price of (a thing for sale); to state the price of. (Originally preyse, praise v. 1; then prise, prize; finally price.)
1382–[see praise v. 1]. c1440–1713 [see prize v.1 1]. c1490Promp. Parv. 413/2 (MS. K.) Pricynge, P. prisinge, licitacio. 1570Levins Manip. 114/41 To Price, appreciare, æstimare. 1620in Essex Rev. (1907) XVI. 206 Item, for peutter, priced vs. 1652Boston Rec. (1877) II. 108 Good⁓wife Howen hath chosen Elder Coleborne to price and accept of a Cow from the Towne. 1831Examiner 338/2 The next jeweller..will price at 10,000l...the baubles that may sell for 3,500l. 1845J. Saunders Cab. Pict. Eng. Life, Chaucer 251 In 1504, London ale was priced 5s. a barrel more than that of Kent. 1865Sala Amer. in War I. 136 The decimal monetary system has been legalised in our possessions—though the shopkeepers are given to pricing their wares in shillings and pence.
b. To quote a price for: cf. price n. 3.
1865Morn. Star 1 June, The layers of the odds complaining that nothing but the favourites were backed, not⁓withstanding their tempting ‘pricing’ of the outsiders.
c. fig. To value relatively, to estimate.
1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. xxxix, The girls' doings are always priced low.
d. to price out of the market: to eliminate (oneself or another) from commercial competition through prohibitive prices; to charge a prohibitive price for (goods or services) or to (the customer). Also simply to price out: to charge a prohibitive price to.
1938Sun (Baltimore) 3 Jan. 8/3 Building material dealers and manufacturers, and to a less extent building labor, not only priced themselves out of the market but also priced the country out of an anticipated increase of $2,000,000,000 of national income. 1946Ibid. 10 Aug. 4/1 Our price policies in the past..have had a tendency to price our export commodities out of the world market. 1946Your Investments Sept. 9 Many consumers were being priced right out of the market..by the accelerated rise in living costs. 1947Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 4 June 1/3 Government support prices for peanuts are so high that ‘it forces peanut butter up so far as we are being priced out of the market’. 1949Sun (Baltimore) 28 Jan. 10/1 Earlier support plans have simply priced cotton out of the world market. 1955Times 15 June 3/1 The country should realize that we could be easily priced out of international markets. 1958Spectator 14 Feb. 201/1 As for the story that we should have been ‘priced out of our export markets’, time has shown that this does not happen so easily as pessimists predict. 1971Guardian 6 Sept. 9/8 Swiss exports may be pricing themselves out of world markets. 1975Times 4 Sept. 2/1 In an effort to price out [football] hooligans..most Saturday concessionary fares are being ended. 1977Guernsey Weekly Press 21 July 1/6 His members were very concerned about the risk of being priced out of the market.
e. to price up: to increase the price of.
1943Our Towns (Women's Group on Public Welfare) ii. 58 The shop then prices up the goods in order to cover..the commission. 1976N. Roberts Face of France xxv. 227 The [champagne] trade started pricing up its wares to restrain demand.
†2. To pay the price for, pay for. Obs.
1500–20Dunbar Poems xc. 42 And rype thi mynde how every thing befell, The tyme, the place, and how, and in quhat wyis, So that thi confessioun ma thi synnes pryce. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. v. 26 The man that made Sansfoy to fall, Shall with his owne blood price that he hath spilt. Ibid. ix. 37 What justice can but judge against thee right, With thine owne blood to price his blood, here shed in sight?
3. To inquire the price of, bargain for; = cheap v. 3, cheapen v. 1.
a1845Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Ld. Thoulouse xxi, If you priced such a one in a drawing-room here, And was ask'd fifty pounds, you'd not say it was dear. 1859Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 94 That glorious avenue of Covent Garden Market, where they price cucumbers at Mrs. Solomon's and bouquets at Mrs. Buck's. 1872Howells Wedd. Journ. (1892) 179 The evening they spent in..pricing many things.
†4. To raise the price of, to make dear. Obs. rare.
1533J. Heywood Play Weather (1903) 636 And well it is knowen, to the most foole here, How rayne hath pryced corne within this vii. yeare.
†5. To value highly; to value; = prize v.1 3.
(Quot. c 1375 is a casual instance of the spelling price for prise.)
[c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxvi. (Baptista) 145 For-þi suld men hym gretly price, And lowe hym in mony wyse.] 1561tr. Calvin's Foure Godlye Serm. iii. G iij b, It is..suche a special prerogatyue as can not for y⊇ great dignitie therof sufficiently be pryced to remaine and lyue in the churche. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. ii. 315 (Qo. 1, 1609) Men price [Fol. 1 prize] the thing ungained more then it is. 1643J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea (1652) 420 We have had a peace a long time and..have not priced that mercy.
▪ IV. price
obs. form of prise, prize n.1, n.2, n.3 |