cheap (English)

Where does "cheap" come from?

The word 'cheap' traces its roots to the Latin 'caupō', meaning an innkeeper or shopkeeper, which eventually evolved into the Proto-Germanic term for trading and purchasing. In Middle and Early Modern English, the adjective emerged as a shortening of the phrase 'good cheap,' which literally meant 'a good purchase.' Over time, the meaning shifted from simply describing a favorable transaction to denoting items of low price, and eventually, low quality.

Full etymology tree

• cheap (English), 'Low or reduced in price.'
  • clipping good cheap (Middle/Early Modern English)
    • inherited chep (Middle English)
      • inherited ċēap (Old English), 'cattle, any commodity'
        • inherited *kaup (Proto-West Germanic), 'trade, purchase'
          • deverbal *kaupōn (Proto-West Germanic), 'to buy'
            • inherited *kaupōną (Proto-Germanic), 'to buy; trade'
              • compound *kaupô (Proto-Germanic), 'innkeeper'
                • borrowed caupō (Latin), 'tradesman'
                  • influence κᾰ́πηλος (kápēlos) (Ancient Greek)
              • compound *-ōną (Proto-Germanic), 'Suffix of the infinitive. Creates denominative verbs from nouns.'

Direct ancestors

• ceap (Old English)
• kaup (Proto-West Germanic)
• ceapian (Old English)
• kaupōn (Proto-West Germanic)
• kaupōną (Proto-Germanic)
• caupo (Latin)
• keap (West Frisian)
• koop (Dutch)

Updated July 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris