In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
bargaining
(noun) the negotiation of the terms of a transaction or agreement
Source: WordNet® 3.1
bargaining
present participle of bargain
bargaining (plural bargainings)
The act of one who bargains.
Source: Wiktionary
Bar"gain, n. Etym: [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.
Bar"gain, v. i. Etym: [OE. barganien, OF. bargaigner, F. barguigner, to hesitate, fr. LL. barcaniare. See Bargain, n.]
Definition: 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.
Bar"gain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bargained (p. pr. & vb. n. Bargaining.]
Definition: 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 May 2025
(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”
In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.