cheap 
II. trans. 1. To bargain for ; chnfferfor; ask 
the price of; offer a price for; cheapen. 
Who so chefted my chatlare chi'ieii [ wolde, 
But he profml to paye a peny or tweyne 
More than it was worth. 
J-irrs Plnieaian (li), Xiii. 380. 
2. To buy; purchase. 
Such chailare 1 cht'iir at the ehapitre. 
Politirnl ,Vo,,,,.,(ed. Wright), p. 160. 
As a spauyel schc wol on him lepe, 
Til that scbe fynde sum man hir to </!</"' 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 20S. 
3. To .sell. 
Ancre [am -h< tress) tliat is cheapild, heo c/i.'it/'.'ll/ hire 
soiile [to] the uliepmon of belle. Ancren Hi me, p. 418. 
cheapt (chep), n. [< ME. </</), <//, I-IK-)I. 
rli.ii/), trade, traffic, bargain, price, < AS. i-ni/i, 
trade, traffic, price, also cattle (cf. fee), = OS. 
kop = OFries. kd/> = D. kiiop = MM!. Avi/i, L( !. 
AWI/I = OHI.T. rhimf, finif, Icoitf, MUG. kouf, 6. 
AYIM/', trade, traffic, bargain, purchase, = Icol. 
k<iti/> = Sw. kiip = Dan. /.;/'>, bargain, purchase; 
from the verb : see clirii/i. r. Hence in comp. 
i-lni/i/'iit'i', now chaffer, i-liti/minii, also abbr. chap. 
In ME. the noun is rs|>. common in the phrases 
i/ml clii'/i, early mod. E. </<><><t r/n-<i/> ( = D. goeit 
koi>/> = LG. (jod kop = North Fries, god kup = 
Icel. fldtt lea up = Sw. (/<// AvV/i = Dan. yodt 
kjiili), lit., like F. 6 marclie, a good price or 
bargain; and gret chep, early mod. K. gnat 
cheap, a great bargain, whence by abbr. c'lu-ap, 
a.,q. v.] 1. Trade; traffic; chaffer ; chaffering. 
Al for on [one] y woUle yeve tlireo withoute rlu't>. 
Him: i./ l.yr. I'wlnj (ed. Wright), p. 89. 
2. A market; a market-place: in this sense 
extant in several place-names, as Cheapside and 
Eastclieap in London, Chepstow, etc. 
The Walltrook, then and for centuries to come a broad 
river-channel, . . . deep enough to float the small lioats 
used in the truffle up from the Thames to the very edge of 
the Cheap, or market-place. 
J. K, Oreen, G'onq. of Eng., p. 438. 
3. Price. 
Hi'" was a cheuese, hire cheap was the wrse. 
Layamon, 1. 17. 
Cheep, precium. Prompt. Pars., p. 72. 
To no man schnld hyt he sold 
Half swych a chepe. Octovian, 1. 819. 
4. A low price; a bargain: especially in the 
phrases gixttl cheap and great cheap (see below). 
5. Cheapness; lowness of price ; abundance 
of supply. 
Of plente and of grete fauiyne 
Of chepe, of derthe. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 4883. 
Good Cheap (see etymology), literally, good bargain or 
price, or (as in ffreat cheap) market or trade, with refer- 
ence to the abundance of the supply, (a) An abundant 
supply ; cheapness. 
The god ger was icome and ffotl chep of corn. 
Political Soiiys (ed. Wright), p. 341. 
(6) In abundant supply ; at a low price ; cheap : used ad- 
jectivelyoradverbially. [Now simply cheap. 8eecheap,a.] 
I wille that my brothers William liaue the landes and 
rentys bettir chepe than any othir man, by a resonahle 
some. Will* and Inventories (ed. Tynuns), p. 63. 
Victuals shall be so good cheap upon earth, that they 
shall think themselves to be In good case. 2 Esd. xvi. 21. 
But here's one can sell yon Freedom better cheap. 
Conyreve, Old Batchelor, v. 14. 
The planters put away most of their goods within a 
small matter as good cheep as they pay for yt. 
Trelaany Papers, N. and Q., 8th ser., IX. 405. 
Great Cheap (see etymology, and compare flooil cheap), 
literally, great or large market-trade. () An abundant 
supply ; cheapness. 
Greet pres at market makith deer chaffare, 
And to gret chep is holden at litel prls. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Wife of Bath's Tale, 1. 522. 
Men ban gret plentee and tjret chep of all wyncs and 
vitailles. JHaiulreille, Travels, p. 208. 
(6) In abundant supply ; at a low price ; cheap. 
Clothes of Gold and of Sylk ben aretter chep there a gret 
del, than ben Clothes of Wolle. 3lnndeville, Travels, p. 233. 
cheap (chep), a. [Short for good cheap : see 
under cheap, .] 1. Bated at a low price or 
cost; purchasable or obtainable at a low price 
or cost, either as compared with the usual price 
or cost, or with the real value, or, more vague- 
ly, with the price of other things ; relatively 
inexpensive. 
It is cheaper to hire the labour of freemen than to com- 
pel the labour of slaves. Bacon. 
The cheap defence of nations [chivalry], the nurse of 
manly sentiment and heroic enterprise, is gone. 
Burke, Rev. iu France. 
The modern cheap and fertile press, with all its trans- 
lations, hiis done little to bring us nearer to the heroic 
writers of antiquity. Thoremi. Walclen, p. \n>. 
2. Of small intrinsic value or esteem ; common ; 
commonplace ; mean ; costing little effort to 
obtain, practise, influence, etc.: as, to make 
one's self cheap. 
939 
So common hackneyed in tin- i-yi-s "f men, 
So stale and cheap to vulgar company. 
Hli.it.. I Urn. IV., ill. 2. 
That low, cheap, unreasonable, and inexcusable vice of 
customary swearing. Jer. Tuiil.ir, Workx(ed. lh.'lf>), I. 208. 
lit- ailmnnisheil by wluit you alreaih 106. riot t.i strike 
leagues of friendship with OMap per^ms. v\ here no friend- 
ship can be. Emertm, Kssays, 1st ser., p. !'.>.',. 
The Count had lounged Konicwhat too long in Home. 
Made himself rli.-ii/,. l:r<ji.-ii</i't. KJMLT ami hunk, I. M. 
3. Getting off cheaply, or without losing much 
(or so much as one deserves): as, to be /-ln/i/i 
o't. [Scotch.] 
If In- IOM-S by us u'thegither, he is e'en cheap o't, he can 
spare it hruwly. *,-<>it. 
Cheap Jack, cheap John, a traveling hawker : a seller 
of cheap article-; a chapman; one who sells by Dutch 
auction. 
Of all the callings ill used in (Jreat Britain, the cli.;i,, 
Jack calling is the worst u.-ed. 
liickeni. Doctor Marigold's Prescription*. 
Cheapen (I'he'pn), r. t. [< <-ln-nj,. /. or a.. + 
-en 1 . In the first sense it supersedes the orig. 
verb cheap, q. v.] 1. To ask the price of; chaf- 
fer or bargain for. [Obsolete or obsolescent.] 
I cheapened sprats. H. Jimxon, Volpone, iv. 1. 
To shops in crowds the daggled females fly, 
Pretend to cheapen goods, but nothing buy. 
>;, A city Shower. 
2. To beat down the price of. 
I I'liraiten all she buys, ami hear the curse 
Of honest tradesmen for my niggard-purse. 
Crablx*, Works, V. 58. 
3. To reduce in price or cost; make cheaper: 
as, to cheapen the cost of production; to clu-n/i- 
en the necessaries of life. 
Oxidizing and combustible agents to cheapen the cost 
and modify the force of the explosive. Science, IV. 14. 
4. To lessen the value of ; depreciate or belit- 
tle ; make too common : as, to cheapen one's self 
by being too officious. 
I find my proffered love has cheapened me. Dryden. 
Here might the red-bird come his plumes to cool, 
And court the flower that cheapenn his array. 
Emerson, The Rhodora. 
cheapener (chep'ner), n. One who cheapens, 
in any sense. 
Cheapingt, n. [< ME. chepinqc, < AS. cyi>iuii, 
ccdjiiini/, trade, business, market-place, verbal 
n. of eypan, cedpian, trade : see cheap, r.] A 
market ; a market-place. 
He meyneteneth his men to morther myne hewen, 
Forstalleth my feyres and ftsteth in my chepynye. 
Piers Plowman (B), iv. 56. 
Wait gif any weigh comes wending alone, 
Other cherl other child fro chepin/ie or feyre. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1882. 
cheaply (chep'li), adv. 1. In a cheap manner; 
at a small price; at a low cost: as, ''cheaply 
bought," Shak., Macbeth, v. 7. 
Thoughts that great hearts once broke for, we 
Breathe cheaply in the common air. Lowell, Masaccio. 
No fear lest praise should make us proud ! 
We know how cheaply that is won ; 
The idle homage of the crowd 
Is proof of tasks as idly done. 
O. W. Holmes, St. Anthony the Reformer. 
2. At a low estimate of value ; as of little value 
or importance ; with depreciation or disesteem. 
There have appeared already among Roman Catholics 
symptoms of a tendency to hold cheaply by Holy Scripture, 
as being comparatively unimportant to them, who have 
the authority of an infallible Church, forgetting that the 
authority of the Church depends upon Holy Scripture. 
Ptisey, Eirenicon, p. 94. 
cheapness (chep'nes), n. [< cheap + -tiess.] 
The state or quality of being cheap; lowness 
in price or value. 
cheart, n. and v . An obsolete form of cheer 1 . 
cheasont, n. [ME. chesoun, by apheresis for en- 
chesoun : see enchcson.] Encheson ; occasion. 
We [the devils] schulen ordeyne bi oon assent 
A priuey councell al of tresoun, 
And clayme ihesu [Jesus] for onre rent : 
For that he is kiude [nature] of man, it is good ehamui. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 42. 
cheat 1 (chet), n. [< ME. chete, a clipped form of 
eschetc, an escheat: see escheat, n. In senses 
2-6, the noun is from the verb cheat.] If. An 
escheat; an unexpected acquisition; a wind- 
fall. 
Thorw sowre lawe, as I leue I lese many chetex; 
Mede ouer-maistrieth lawe and moche treuthe letteth. 
Pier Plowman (B), iv. 175. 
And yet, the taking oft* these vessels was not the best 
and goodliest cheat of their victory ; but this passed all, 
that with one light skirmish they became lords of all the 
sea along those coasts. Holland. 
2. A fraud committed by deception; a trick; 
an imposition ; an imposture. 
When I consider life, 'tis all a cheat. 
Dryden, Aurengzebe, iv. 1. 
cheat-bread 
The pretence of public good is a cheat that will evei 
pass. Sir W. Temple. 
Nothing ilii s but tin- /,,-,!/., ,,f time. 
Whiltirr, The Preacher. 
In Ifiv: a fraud N punishable a^ a i heat only (1) when it 
dcpri\ es anulhi r uf prupcrt} (thus, fraudulently inducing 
a mariia-e is not termed a cheat); (2)when it is not Mirh 
unuimf to a leluny Our then it is more ,-. 
punishable); and (;()when it is ellected by some practice 
or method, other than mere words, which affects or may 
allot numbers of persons or the public at large, such as 
the use of fal.-c weights. 
3. A person who clients; one guilty of fraud 
by deceitful practices; a swindler. 
No man will trust a known eli.-nt. Sunlit. 
4. A game at cards, in which the cards are 
plyea face downward, the player stating the 
value of the card he plays (which must always 
be one higher than (hut played by the previous 
player), and being subjected to a penalty if he 
is discovered stating it wrongly. 5. Anything 
which deceives or is intended to deceive; an 
illusion; specifically, a false shirt-front. See 
dicl,-!/. 6. The sweetbread. =8jrn. 2. Deceit, de- 
ception, fraud, delusion, artittce, guile, finesse, strata- 
gem. 
cheat 1 (chet), v. [< ME. cJieten, confiscate, 
seize as an escheat, a clipped form of ech< t< n, 
escheat : see escheat, t: ana ., and cf. cheat 1 , n. 
The sense of 'defraud,' which does not occur 
until the latter part of the 16th century, arose 
from the unscrupulous actions of the escheaters, 
the officers appointed to look after escheats : 
see escheator, cheater.] I. trans. If. To confis- 
cate; escheat. 
Chetyii, conflscor, flsco. Prompt. Pan., p. 73. 
2. To deceive and defraud ; impose upon ; 
trick: followed by of or out of before the thing 
of which one is defrauded. 
A sorcerer that by Ills cunning hath cheated me 
<>/ the island. Shat., Tempest, ill. 2. 
To thee, dear schoolboy, whom my lay 
Has cheated of thy hour of play, 
Light task, and merry holiday ! 
Scott, Mannion, L'Envoi. 
Another is cheating the sick o/a few last gasps, as he sits 
To pestle a poison'd poison behind his crimson lights. 
Tennyson, Maud, i. 11. 
3. To mislead ; deceive. 
Power to cheat the eye with blear illusion. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 155. 
All around 
Are dim uncertain shapes that cli.ui the sight. 
Bryant, Journey of Life. 
4. To elude or escape. 
A fancy pregnant with resource and scheme 
To cheat the sadness of a rainy day. 
Wtirdtnvorth, Excursion, vii. 
We an easier way to cheat our pains have found. 
M. Arnold, Empedocles on Etna. 
5f. To win or acquire by cheating: as, to cheat 
an estate from one. Cowley. 6. To effect or 
accomplish by cheating: as, to cheat one's way 
through the world ; to cheat one into a mis- 
placed sympathy. 
Selfishness finds out a satisfactory reason wby it may do 
what it wills collects and distorts, exaggerates and sup- 
presses, so as ultimately to cheat itself into the desired 
conclusion. //. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 179. 
To Cheat the gallows, to escape the punishment due 
to a capital crime ; escape the gallows though deserving 
hanging. 
The greatest thief that ever cheated the gallotcs. Dickens. 
= Syn. 2. To cozen, gull, chouse, fool, outwit, circumvent, 
beguile, dupe, inveigle. 
II. intranx. To act dishonestly; practise 
fraud or trickery: as, he cheats at cards. 
cheat 2 (chet), . [Origin obscure.] See second 
and third extracts under cheat-bread. 
Cheat 3 (chet), n. [Origin obscure.] A thing : 
usually with a distinctive word : as, a cackling 
cheat, a fowl ; belly-cheat, an apron. [Old slang.] 
Cheatable (che'ta-bl), a. [< cheat 1 , v., + -able.] 
Capable of being cheated ; easily cheated, 
cheatableness (ehe'ta-bl-nes), n. [< cheatable 
+ -ness.] Liability to be cheated. 
Not faith but folly, an easy cheatableness of the heart. 
Hammond, Works, IV. 554. 
cheat-breadt (chet'bred), . [< ME. chetbred.] 
A kind of wheaten bread, ranking next to fflun- 
chet. 
Manchet and chet bred he shalle take, 
Tho pautere assayes that hit be bake. 
Babeet Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 315. 
Pain rounset [F.], cheat or booted bread; household 
bread, made of wheat and rie mingled. Cotgrave. 
There were two kinds of cheat-bread, the best of fine 
cheat, mentioned in Ord. and Reg., p. 301, and the coarse 
cheat, ravelled bread, ib. 307. The second sort was, as 
Harrison [p. 168] expressly tells us, "used in the halles 
of the nobilitie and gentrie onelie. . . ." "The second is 
the cheat or wheaton bread, so named bicause the colour 
therof resembleth the graie or yellowish wheat, being 
cleane and well dressed, and out of this is the coarsest 
of the bran taken." Hallneell. 
