Etymology Map
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Cheap

4 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means low in price; of poor quality

Where does the word "cheap" come from? It comes from Latin caupo, passing through West Germanic and Old English before entering English (1500s).

1
Stage 1 of 4
caupo
Latin · classical
"innkeeper, huckster"
a tavern-keeper or petty trader, the kind of Roman merchant Germanic peoples met along the frontier
2
Stage 2 of 4
*kaupōn
West Germanic · ancient
"to trade"
turned into a verb 'to trade', the source of German kaufen 'to buy'
3
Stage 3 of 4
cēap
Old English · medieval
"market, trade"
a market or bargain, surviving in London's Cheapside and towns like Chipping Norton
4
Stage 4 of 4
cheap
English · 1500s
"inexpensive"
shortened from 'good cheap', a good bargain, to mean low-priced
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Read the full story

Cheap’s story begins in Latin: caupo meant “innkeeper, huckster.” A tavern-keeper or petty trader, the kind of Roman merchant Germanic peoples met along the frontier. By ancient, the word had taken hold in West Germanic as *kaupōn. Turned into a verb 'to trade', the source of German kaufen 'to buy'. From there it passed into Old English as cēap by medieval. A market or bargain, surviving in London's Cheapside and towns like Chipping Norton. It reached English by 1500s as cheap. Shortened from 'good cheap', a good bargain, to mean low-priced. Today, cheap means low in price; of poor quality.