*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of price

From Middle English price (“price, prize, value, excellence”), borrowed from Old French pris, preis, from Latin pretium (“worth, price, money spent, wages, reward”); compare praise, precious, appraise, appreciate, deprec

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

The cost required to gain possession of something. · The cost of an action or deed. · Value; estimation; excellence; worth.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English price (“price, prize, value, excellence”), borrowed from Old French pris, preis, from Latin pretium (“worth, price, money spent, wages, reward”); compare praise, precious, appraise, appreciate, depreciate, etc.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionpriceenm
  • Derivation mentionprisfro
  • Derivation mentionpretiumla
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "price",
        "4": "",
        "5": "price, prize, value, excellence"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English price (“price, prize, value, excellence”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "pris"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French pris"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "pretium",
        "4": "",
        "5": "worth, price, money spent, wages, reward"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin pretium (“worth, price, money spent, wages, reward”)"
    }
  ],
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    ],
    [
      "preis",
      "preis#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "pretium",
      "pretium#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "praise",
      "praise"
    ],
    [
      "precious",
      "precious"
    ],
    [
      "appraise",
      "appraise"
    ],
    [
      "appreciate",
      "appreciate"
    ],
    [
      "depreciate",
      "depreciate"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Bislama",
      "lang_code": "bi",
      "word": "praes"
    },
    {
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "word": "praghas",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The cost required to gain possession of something.",
        "The cost of an action or deed.",
        "Value; estimation; excellence; worth."
      ],
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Unnumbered source etymology · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To determine the monetary value of (an item); to put a price on. · To find out what something costs · To pay the price of; to make reparation for. · To set a price on; to value; to prize.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English price (“price, prize, value, excellence”), borrowed from Old French pris, preis, from Latin pretium (“worth, price, money spent, wages, reward”); compare praise, precious, appraise, appreciate, depreciate, etc.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionpriceenm
  • Derivation mentionprisfro
  • Derivation mentionpretiumla

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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      "preis#Old_French"
    ],
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      "pretium",
      "pretium#Latin"
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      "praise",
      "praise"
    ],
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      "precious",
      "precious"
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    [
      "appraise",
      "appraise"
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      "appreciate",
      "appreciate"
    ],
    [
      "depreciate",
      "depreciate"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To determine the monetary value of (an item); to put a price on.",
        "To find out what something costs",
        "To pay the price of; to make reparation for.",
        "To set a price on; to value; to prize."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive",
        "obsolete"
      ],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for price →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-cHJpY2U