# sell

Pronunciation: say "SEL" /sɛl/

## Verb

1. To supply goods or services to a buyer who pays money for them.
   - Simple: To give someone goods or services in return for money.
   - _Local vendors sell handmade crafts along the boardwalk._
   - _The new associate is still learning how to sell._
2. To be purchased by buyers, often described in terms of speed or quantity.
   - Simple: To be bought by customers, often in a certain amount or at a certain speed.
   - _Her paintings sell for thousands at auction._
   - _This model sells better in warmer climates._
3. To promote something, such as an idea, plan, product, or person, by persuading others of its value so that they accept, support, or want it.
   - Simple: To get people to believe an idea, plan, or thing is good, so they accept it or want it.
   - _Politicians sell their policies with carefully chosen slogans._
   - _She knew how to sell an unpopular decision to her staff._
4. To betray someone or something for money or other personal gain.
   - Simple: To betray someone in return for money or other rewards.
   - _They would sell their comrades to save themselves._
   - _He sold the resistance to the occupying army for a handful of coins._

## Noun

5. The effort of promoting an idea so that others will accept it.
   - Simple: The work of getting people to accept an idea.
   - _Persuading investors was a harder sell than the founders anticipated._
   - _Universal health care can be a difficult sell in some regions._
6. A single instance of transferring goods or services to a buyer for money.
   - Simple: A single act of giving goods to a buyer for money.
   - _By the end of the day, the trader had logged forty buys and sells, most of them small._
   - _The broker confirmed the sell at noon, and the money reached her account two days later._

## Noun

7. A hoax, cheat, or disappointment; something that leaves a person feeling tricked or robbed of dignity. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A trick or hoax that leaves someone feeling foolish or let down.
8. A saddle; the seat placed on a horse's back for a rider. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A seat that a rider puts on a horse's back.
9. A seat or stool, especially a plain one used for sitting. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A seat or simple stool for sitting on.
10. A rope, especially one used for tying up cattle, though it may refer to any kind of rope. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A rope, usually used to tie up cattle.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To trick, cheat, or manipulate someone, especially through persuasion.
- (verb) To pretend that an opponent's blows or moves are causing real injury, making a staged fight look convincing.
- (verb) To let one's own team down in a shared effort, especially in a sport or game.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–7** — Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- is the deepest known root. It led to Proto-Germanic *saljaną and Proto-West Germanic *salljan, then to Old English sellan, which meant "give" and "give up for money," and Middle English sellen. Danish sælge, Icelandic selja, and Swedish sälja, all meaning "to sell," are related words.
**Meanings 8–9** — From French selle, itself from Latin sella.
**Meaning 10** — From Old Saxon sēl or Old Norse seil, related to Dutch zeel and German Seil, both meaning "rope."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/sell (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).