Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.
SELL
sell
(noun) the activity of persuading someone to buy; “it was a hard sell”
sell
(verb) persuade somebody to accept something; “The French try to sell us their image as great lovers”
sell
(verb) give up for a price or reward; “She sold her principles for a successful career”
sell
(verb) exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent; “He sold his house in January”; “She sells her body to survive and support her drug habit”
deal, sell, trade
(verb) do business; offer for sale as for one’s livelihood; “She deals in gold”; “The brothers sell shoes”
betray, sell
(verb) deliver to an enemy by treachery; “Judas sold Jesus”; “The spy betrayed his country”
sell
(verb) be sold at a certain price or in a certain way; “These books sell like hot cakes”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Proper noun
Sell (plural Sells)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Sell is the 3280th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 11014 individuals. Sell is most common among White (95.05%) individuals.
Anagrams
• ELLs, Ells, ells
Etymology 1
Verb
sell (third-person singular simple present sells, present participle selling, simple past and past participle sold)
(transitive, intransitive, ditransitive) To transfer goods or provide services in exchange for money.
(ergative) To be sold.
To promote a product or service.
To promote a particular viewpoint.
To betray for money.
(slang) To trick, cheat, or manipulate someone.
(professional wrestling, slang) To pretend that an opponent's blows or maneuvers are causing legitimate injury; to act.
Antonyms
• buy
Noun
sell (plural sells)
An act of selling.
An easy task.
(colloquial, dated) An imposition, a cheat; a hoax; a disappointment; anything occasioning a loss of pride or dignity.
Etymology 2
Noun
sell (plural sells)
(obsolete) A seat or stool.
(archaic) A saddle.
Etymology 3
Noun
sell (plural sells)
(regional, obsolete) A rope (usually for tying up cattle, but can also mean any sort of rope).
Anagrams
• ELLs, Ells, ells
Source: Wiktionary
Sell, n.
Definition: Self. [Obs. or Scot.] B. Jonson.
Sell, n.
Definition: A sill. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Sell, n.
Definition: A cell; a house. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Sell, n. Etym: [F. selle, L. sella, akin to sedere to sit. See Sit.]
1. A saddle for a horse. [Obs.] He left his lofty steed with golden self. Spenser.
2. A throne or lofty seat. [Obs.] Fairfax.
Sell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sold; p. pr. & vb. n. Selling.] Etym: [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. sälja to sell, Dan. s, 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. If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor. Matt. xix. 21. I am changed; I'll go sell all my land. Shak.
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.
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. You would have sold your king to slaughter. Shak.
3. To impose upon; to trick; to deceive; to make a fool of; to cheat. [Slang] Dickens. 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.
Sell, v. i.
1. To practice selling commodities. I will buy with you, sell with you; . . . but I will not eat with you. Shak.
2. To be sold; as, corn sells at a good price. To sell out, to sell one's whole stockk in trade or one's entire interest in a property or a business.
Sell, n.
Definition: An imposition; a cheat; a hoax. [Colloq.]
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
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