| 释义 |
▪ I. purchase, n.|ˈpɜːtʃɪs, -əs|
Forms: α. 3 porchas, 5 -ches. β. 4 pourchas, -chees, 7 -chace. γ. 3–6 purchas, 4 Sc. chass, 4– purchase, (4–6 -ches, 4–7 -chace, 5 -ches(s)e, 5–7 -chasse, 6 -chaz).
[ME., a. OF. por-, pur-, later pourchas masc. (12th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), f. porchacier, por-, pur-, pourchassier to purchase. The 15th c. purchace is merely a graphic alteration of purchas (cf. ace, ice, mice), whence mod. purchase after the vb.; but the 17th c. pourchace, purchasse, were prob. influenced by F. pourchasse, OF. porchace fem., a parallel form to porchas masc.]
I. The act or action of purchasing.
†1. The action of hunting; the chase; the catching or seizing of prey; hence, seizing or taking forcibly or with violence; pillage, plunder, robbery, capture. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1745 So þat men of porchas come to him so gret route. 1390Gower Conf. II. 331 Forthi to maken his pourchas He [Covoitise, as a robber] lith awaitende on the pas. c1480Henryson Mor. Fab. 1946 Poems (S.T.S.) II. 145 Ane reuand wolf, that leuit vpoun purches On bestiall. 1596Z. J. tr. Lavardin's Scanderbeg iii. 91 [The Turks] being scattered and dispersed..here and there about purchase and pillage. 16..Robin Hood in Thoms E.E. Prose Rom. (1858) II. 110 Being overjoyed at the great purchase he had made. 1703M. Martin West. Isl. Scot. 299 They [two eagles] commonly make their purchase in the adjacent isles and continent, and never take so much as a lamb or a hen from the place of their abode. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 216 We were bound now upon traffick, and not for purchase... They told us they were come into the South Seas for purchase, but that they had made little of it.
†2.
a. Attempt or effort to obtain, procure, bring about, effect, or cause something; endeavour; attempted instigation; machination; contrivance, management. Obs.
13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 695 Yif thou him slest, bi hire purchas, On the falle swich a cas, As fel [etc.]. 1375Barbour Bruce v. 534 The king, throu goddis grace, Gat hale vittering of his purchass. c1407Lydg. Reson & Sens. 2389 Alle pleyes be deuysed By his avys and his purchace. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxxvii. 50 Desyryng them, that they wolde make no yuell purchase agaynst hym. Ibid. 375 Y⊇ Kynge of England made moche purchace to have the doughter of therle of F. to haue been married to his son Edward. a1533― Huon cxliii. 533 His nephue and..his men, who were newly slayne by the purches of the abbot of Cluney.
†b. Hence, The actual bringing about or procurement of any deed or event. Obs.
1489Caxton Blanchardyn vii. 27 Ouer grete haste thou makest to the purchas of thy deth. 1513Bradshaw St. Werburge ii. 1832 Diuers maydens louyng a chaste mynde From vilany ben saued by her purchase.
†3.
a. The action or process of procuring, obtaining, or acquiring for oneself in any way; acquisition, gain, attainment. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. 12039 Sir henri of alemaine..Wende to þe court of rome, to make som purchas. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6051 Yn alle ȝoure moste purchace Comþ ȝoure deþ sunnest yn place. c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 53 It ys no purchas of no good lose, but of enuye. c1440Promp. Parv. 416/2 Purchase, adquisicio. 1502Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. iv. 45 Many faders & moders ben moche desyrous..to make purchases, & to gader goodes for the bodyes of theyr children. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xviii. (Arb.) 53 No doubt the shepheards..trade [was] the first art of lawfull acquisition or purchase, for at those daies robbery was a manner of purchase.
†b. Concubinage. Obs.[Cf. OF. enfant, fils de porchas, bastard child, 13th c.] a1300Cursor M. 26284 Bot he be yong o suilkin state þat he mai wijf forbere na-gate Oþer o spous or o purches. 1513Douglas æneis ix. xi. 72 Son to the bustuus nobill Sarpedon, In purches get a Thebane wenche apon.
4. a. The action of making one's profit or gaining one's sustenance in any way; esp. of doing this in an irregular way, as by begging, or by shifts of any kind; shifting for oneself.
Quots. 1570, 1571 are obscure. To live on one's purchase, i.e. on what one can make in any way. To leave one to his purchase, i.e. to shift for himself, to his own resources. Obs. or Sc.
c1386Chaucer Prol. 256 His purchas was wel bettre than his rente. c1400Rom. Rose 6840 To winne is alwey myn entent; My purchas is better than my rent. 1570Exuing Par. Reg., The 4 of Februarye was buryed one Fookes a pore man that cam to the towne of his purchase. 1571Boxford Par. Reg., Buryinges, 3 Tho. Walle yt wente of his purchase the xijth of Maye. 1710Ruddiman in Douglas æneis Gloss. s.v., He lives upon his purchase as well as others on their set rent. 1808Jamieson s.v., We still say, He lives on his purchase, of one who has no visible or fixed means of sustenance. 1816Scott Antiq. xxiv, Dousterswivel's brow grew very dark at this proposal of leaving him to his ‘ain purchase’. 1825Jamieson s.v., To Live on one's Purchase, to support oneself by expedients or shifts. It had originally signified living by depredation.
†b. A pursuit by which gain or livelihood is obtained; an occupation. Obs.
1588T. Hickock tr. Frederick's Voy. 14 b, If euery Oyster had pearle in them, it [oyster-fishing] would be a very good purchase, but there is very many that haue no pearles in them. 1623–33Fletcher & Shirley Night Walker i. i, Thou hast no Land, Stealing is thy own purchase. 1658Sir H. Slingsby Father's Leg. in Diary (1836) 208 It were very strange for them who practise that Trade long, to gain by the purchase.
5. Law. The acquirement of property by one's personal action, as distinct from inheritance. Also fig.
[1292Britton ii. ii. §4 Purchaz pora estre en plusours maneres.] c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Monarchy ix, The grete lordis off þe lande..by reason..off Mariages, purchasses, and oþer titles, shall often tymes growe to be gretter than thai be now. 1463in Somerset Med. Wills (1901) 201 Euery creature that I haue hadde lande of..as well that which came by inheritaunce as by porches. 1523Fitzherb. Surv. Prol., If the owner make a true pee degre or conueyaunce by discente or by purchace. 1544tr. Littleton's Tenures (1574) 4 Purchase is called the possession of landes or tenementes that a man hath by his dede or by his agreemente. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. iii. 215 These three princes therefore, king William, queen Mary, and queen Anne, did not take the crown by hereditary right or descent, but by way of donation or purchase, as the lawyers call it. 1848Wharton Law Lex, Purchase,..an acquisition of land in any lawful manner, other than by descent, or the mere act of law, and includes escheat, occupancy, prescription, forfeiture, and alienation.
6. spec.
a. Acquisition by payment of money or of some other valuable equivalent; buying. (Now the ordinary sense.)
[1560Bible Jer. xxxii. 8 Bye my field, I praie thee..: for the right of the possession is thine, and the purchase belongeth vnto thee.] 1611Ibid. 11, I bought the field..and weighed him the money... So I tooke the euidence of the purchase. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 337 He would make his first Purchases of little Jewels. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 459 To sell it, and to apply the money in the purchase of other lands. 1833H. Martineau Brooke Farm ii, We turned into Miss Black's shop, where I wanted to make a purchase. 1888M. E. Braddon Fatal Three i. ii, She had only stopped her caprices and her purchases when the room would not hold another thing of beauty.
b. The action, practice, or system of buying commissions in the army; payment made for an appointment or promotion in the commissioned ranks.
The system was finally abolished in 1871.
1796Stedman Surinam I. i. 4 An ensign's commission, presented me without purchase, in one of the Scots brigade regiments in the pay of Holland. 1837Penny Cycl. VII. 400/2 In the navy, in the regiment of artillery, and in the corps of engineers and marines, the commissions are conferred without purchase. 1871Punch 29 July 31/2 The Queen, by Royal Warrant, will put an end to all Purchase in the army.
c. compulsory purchase, the enforced purchase of privately-owned land or property usu. by a local authority under statutory powers of compulsion. Freq. attrib. in compulsory purchase order.
1869Bradshaw's Railway Man. XXI. 40 Extra land, 10 acres; compulsory purchase, 2 years; completion of works, four years. 1932Act 22 & 23 Geo. V c. 48 §25(2) They may..be authorised to purchase that land compulsorily by means of an order (in this Act referred to as a ‘compulsory purchase order’). 1962J. Braine Life at Top x. 138 Hewley was the leader of the Labour group on the Council... And Hewley thought that the compulsory purchase wouldn't go through. a1974R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 67 Planning permissions and compulsory purchase orders. 1976S. Wales Echo 26 Nov., Plans are in hand for compulsory purchase of 100 houses.
7. fig. Acquisition at the cost of something immaterial, as effort, suffering, or sacrifice.
1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxii. 195 Our Senses and Experience..are the Talents,..to be..employed in the purchase of Justice, Peace, and true Religion. 1658Whole Duty Man vii. §21 (1687) 65 They that pay thus dear for damnation well deserve to enjoy the purchace. 1711Pope Temp. Fame 515 But if the purchase costs so dear a price, As soothing Folly or exalting Vice. 1758S. Hayward Serm. 58 Has the Son of God..made a compleat purchase of all the blessings of salvation for us?
II. The produce of the action: that which is purchased or acquired.
†8.
a. That which is obtained, gained, or acquired; gains, winnings, acquisitions; esp. that which is taken in the chase, in pillage, robbery, or thieving, or in war; the prey of an animal or hunter; spoil, booty, plunder; a prize; in later use, chiefly, a prize, or booty, taken by a privateer. Also fig.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1738 Of willeuol men [he] him gaderede a gret route, & bi het hom god inou of porchas þat god hom sende. 13..Coer de L. 3759 Geve off thy gold and off thy purchase To eerl, baroun, knyght, and servaunt off mace. Ibid. 6462 He gaff the ryche and the lowe, Off hys pourchas, good inowe. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 213 Y-temptid to geddyr mony or Purchas of the placis wyche he is sende to. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iii. vii. 187 A Beautie-waining, and distressed Widow,..Made prize and purchase of his wanton Eye. 1610B. Jonson Alch. iv. vii, Pack vp all the goods and purchase, That we can carry i' the two trunkes. 1666Lond. Gaz. No. 106/2 A Dutch Caper..having it seems been ten months at sea without meeting with any purchase. 1694Luttrell Brief Rel. 1 Dec. (1857) III. 406, 36 of their privateers are laid up at St. Malloes, finding little purchace of late. 1721De Foe Col. Jack (Bohn) 313 Several other jobs I told him of by which I made pretty good purchase. 1725― Voy. round World (1840) 3 To go anywhere that the advantage of trade, or hopes of purchase should guide us.
†b. An advantage gained or possessed. Obs.
c1450J. Capgrave St. Kath. ii. 1333 Þerfor, madame, taketh heed her to, I pray, Lese not ȝour holde, lese not ȝour purchase, Lete mekenesse dwelle wyth swych a fresch may! c1485E.E. Misc. (Warton Club) 65 A best hath a mothe, but he spekkyt noȝt, Of God we have that fayre purches. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 89 Jewellers..have made good Purchase by buying Jewels here, and carrying them into Europe to be Cut and Set, and returning sell them here.
†c. spec. A vessel falling to a pilot's turn to conduct; also, the sum earned as pilotage. Obs. rare.
1550Egerton MSS. 2118 lf. 3 [If a ship wanting a pilot fire a gun when passing Dover, the pilot] who oweth the tourne may follow his purchase into the Downes & there shall not be denyed lett ne disturbed [by other pilots]. 1609Cinque Ports Crt. Loadmonage ibid. lf. 35 The said John is to paye the one halfe of the purchase unto the fellowshipp of the Trinity House of Dover.
†9. Property acquired or obtained by one's own action or effort. Obs. (So in Anglo-L. and AF.)
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 86 We se alle day in place þing þat a man wynnes, It is told purchace, whedir he it hold or tuynnes. 1444Maldon, Essex A. lf. 32 b, It shall be leefull to euery man that purchasith eny hous or londe with in the Burgh for to devyse his purchas.
10. The annual return or rent from land; in the phrase at so many years' purchase, used in stating the price of land. Also fig., in phrase not to be worth an hour's, a day's, (etc.) purchase, not to be likely to last the length of time mentioned.
1584Whetstone Mirour for Mag. 29 b, The most pernicious Broaker..he helpeth him to sell free land at fiue yeres purchase. 1625Bacon Ess., Usury (Arb.) 545 Land purchased at Sixteene yeares Purchase, wil yeeld Six in the Hundred. 1667Primatt City & C. Build. 21 A Lease for a single life is generally valued at seven years Purchase. a1722Fountainhall Decis. (1759) I. 11 The Earl was ordained to sell these lands at nine years purchase. 1833Marryat P. Simple xxix, The doctor says that, with his short neck, his life is not worth two years' purchase. 1893W. Forbes-Mitchell Remin. Gt. Mutiny 246 The life of General Walpole would not have been worth half an hour's purchase.
11. a. That which is purchased or bought.
1587Harrison Descr. Brit. ii. ix. (1877) I. 204 Now all the wealth of the land dooth flow vnto our common lawiers, of whome, some one hauing practised little aboue thirteene or fourteene yeares is able to buie a purchase of so manie 1000 pounds. 1603Shakes. Ham. v. i. 117 A Lawyer... Will his Vouchers vouch him no more of his Purchases, and double ones too, then the length and breadth of a paire of Indentures? 1816Niles' Reg. 3 June 334/2 The whole of that fine tract in Indiana territory, generally called Harrison's purchase, is now surveyed, and will be offered for sale. 1884Pae Eustace 22 With a proud and swelling heart he entered in possession of his purchase.
b. fig.
1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxvii. §1 Are not soules the purchase of Jesus Christ? 1807J. Barlow Columb. i. 53 Here lies the purchase, here the wretched spoil Of painful years and persevering toil. 1833Chalmers Const. Man (1835) I. iii. 158 The precious fruit or purchase of each moral victory.
c. A (good, bad, dear, etc.) bargain. ? Obs.
1615G. Sandys Trav. 17 Too deare a purchase for so short a breath. 1700Dryden Pal. & Arc. i. 382 Who now but Arcite mourns his bitter fate, Finds his dear purchase, and repents too late? 1812Gen. Hist. in Ann. Reg. 147 The total loss of the besiegers..amounted to upwards of 4850. This might perhaps be thought a dear purchase. 1857Borrow Romany Rye vi, She could not pronounce her words,..so I thought she was no very high purchase.
†12. The price at which anything is or may be purchased or bought; purchase-money. Also fig.
a1718Penn Maxims Wks. 1726 I. 844 The Purchase [of this Treatise] is small. 1742Young Nt. Th. v. 366 Insolvent worlds the purchase cannot pay.
III. [f. purchase v. 7. Cf. also 8 b above.]
13. Hold or position for advantageously exerting or applying power; the advantage gained by the application of one of the mechanical powers; mechanical advantage, leverage, fulcrum.
1711W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 26 Fix.. the Post..with such a regard always to the Weight, that the Purchase and Security may be an Overballance for it. 1776G. Semple Building in Water 54 The further it goes the more Power it will gain, and thereby increase its own Purchase. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §253 The weight..was gaining more and more purchase upon the mast, as it heeled more outward. 1802Paley Nat. Theol. xiii. §1 The head of an ox or a horse is a heavy weight, acting at the end of a long lever, consequently with a great purchase. 1832G. Downes Lett. Cont. Countries I. 339 The streets of Florence, being flagged instead of paved, are..dangerous for riding—the horses having no purchase for their hoofs. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. x. 66 If I could have calculated on a safe purchase for my foot. 1869Boutell Arms & Arm. viii. 142 He might be enabled to bend his bow with a greater purchase. 1883Daily News 29 Jan. 5/2 Unfilled door and window-spaces allowing entrance and purchase to the gale.
14. A device or appliance by means of which power may be brought to bear with advantage; any contrivance for increasing applied power; esp. Naut. such a device consisting of a rope, pulley, windlass, or the like.
1711W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 37 That the Angles of the Purchase may be as obtuse as possible for the Facility of gaining the same with smaller Force. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 241 When we came to make purchases to raise her again,..[we] found she did not hang so heavy. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. 198 The compound purchase, called the Runner and Tackle. 1820Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. II. 455 We had no other means of performing this singular evolution than by attaching purchases to the ice from the ship. 1899F. T. Bullen Log Sea-waif 47 A derrick was rigged over the main-hatch with a double chain purchase attached.
15. fig. A ‘hold’, ‘fulcrum’, or position of advantage for accomplishing something; a means by which one's power or influence is increased.
1790Burke Fr. Rev. 232 A politician, to do great things, looks for a power, what our workmen call a purchase; and if he finds that power, in politics as in mechanics, he cannot be at a loss to apply it. 1809Knox & Jebb Corr. I. 547 This may give us a purchase, by which we may gain over people, from irreligion, to religion. 1853Miall Bases Belief ii. xvii. (1861) 97 They diminish the amount of evil to be contended with, and they provide a firmer purchase for the power which contends with it. 1868Liddon Serm. Spec. Occas. vii. (1897) 150 The will has a subtle but strong purchase over the understanding in matters of belief.
IV.
16. attrib. and Comb.: in sense 6, as purchase-book, purchase-deed, purchase-making, purchase-price, purchase-sum; in sense 6 b, as purchase officer, purchase system; in sense 13, as purchase-block (block n. 5), purchase-fall (fall n.1 26), purchase gear, purchase power, purchase-tackle; also purchase-land, land acquired by purchase; purchase tax, a tax levied (between 1940 and 1973) on goods bought at a rate that was higher on luxuries than on more essential goods. See also purchase-money.
1838Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 148/2 With the assistance of double and single *purchase-blocks. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 36 Purchase or shoulder blocks are used for masting, dismasting, or heaving down, or heaving off vessels on shore, or anything where immense strain is required.
1753Chambers Cycl. Supp., *Purchase-book,..the name given to a book..containing an account of all the purchases made. 1907Expositor Dec. 498 The description of *purchase-deeds in the time of Jeremiah is suggestive of Babylonian usage.
1898C. Bright Submar. Telegraphs iv. 150 Not only can the cable be cut in shallow water near the coast by any small steamer with *purchase gear that will raise an anchor, but [etc.].
1485in Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 254, I bequethe to Henry, my sonne, all my *purchesse londes that I haue purchessed oute of the manor of Comtone.
1891Daily News 5 Mar. 3/5 That they should re-open the whole question of purchase and the terms granted to *purchase officers.
1884Sword & Trowel Feb. 49 Jesus paid the *purchase-price. 1898Westm. Gaz. 30 Sept. 7/2 To issue 370,000 fully paid shares to the old company as purchase price for the undertaking.
1793Smeaton Edystone L. §122 note, The term *Purchase-Tackle has of late years been applied to this kind of block.
1940Act 3 & 4 Geo. VI c. 48 §18 A tax, to be called *purchase tax, shall be charged,..on the wholesale value of all chargeable goods bought under chargeable purchases. 1940Manch. Guardian Weekly 25 Oct. 293 The purchase tax came into operation on Monday [20 Oct.], amid some confusion and protest... The tax imposes 331/3 per cent on the wholesale value of luxury goods and 162/3 per cent on other more essential commodities. 1944M. Laski Love on Supertax iv. 50 Add on the Purchase Tax and the increased Purchase Tax and Special Tax on Luxury Goods. 1947J. Hayward Prose Lit. since 1939 10 The publishers..fought successfully to prevent the imposition of a purchase-tax on books. 1959Daily Tel. 9 Apr. 1/7 The Trades Union Congress yesterday welcomed the Chancellor's cuts in purchase tax. 1972Times 27 Jan. 14/1 Ribena..was held not to be a drug or medicine and therefore not exempt from purchase tax.
▪ II. purchase, v.|ˈpɜːtʃɪs, -əs|
Forms: α. 3 porchas(s)i, -chasy, 3–4 -chacy, -i, -e(n, 3–6 -chase. β. 4 pourchase, 4–6 -chace, -chasse, 5 -chasshe, -chaas. γ. 3 purchaci, -chasy, 3–5 -chacen, 4–5 -chasen, 4 -chasce, -chaysse, -chaise, -chece, 4–6 -chas, -chass(e, -chess, 4–7 -ches, 4–8 -chace, 5 -chese, 4– purchase; (5 perchess).
[ME. a. AF. purchacer, = OF. por-, pur-, pourchacier, -chassier, -chasser (11th c. in Hatz.-Darm.) to seek for, seek to obtain, procure, or bring about, f. por, pur, pour:—L. prō for + chacier, chassier, chasser:—pop. L. captiāre to catch, hunt, chase; cf. It. procacciare to endeavour to get, to procure. (The ONF. dialect forms porcachier, and por-, purcacier, pourkacier, pourkachier, do not appear to be represented in Eng.)]
I.
†1.
a. trans. To try to procure or bring about; to contrive or devise (esp. something evil) to or for a person. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9685 Þat hii ne ssolde purchasy non uvel þe king ne non of his. 1340Ayenb. 8 He..þet deþ oþer porchaceþ ssame oþer harm to oþren. 1422in E. Déprez Études de diplomat. angl. (1908) 37 Yat the saide Johan Moreau..ne purchase ne do no noyowse thyng..to owre seide rewme. 1481Caxton Godeffroy 76 Wel they apperceyued certaynly that themperour pourchassed for them alle the euyl that he myght. 1483― Cato g j b, Whan they seken and purchasen the losse and the dethe of yonge chyldren. 1549Compl. Scot. viii. 74 Ȝe, vndir the cullour of frendschip, purchessis my final exterminatione.
†b. With subordinate clause or infinitive. Obs.
1390Gower Conf. III. 162 Wherof thou thenkest to deserve Thi princes thonk, and to pourchace Hou thou myht stonden in his grace. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 4231 Wher thow..dist purchace Thy temptacioun to enchace. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 408b/1, I shalle soo pourchaas to sette suche a clothe in thy lommes. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxl. 168 Duke Johan of Brabant, purchased greatly that y⊇ erle of Flaunders shulde haue his doughter in maryage. 1549Compl. Scot. viii. 73 My mortal enemeis purchessis to raif my liberte.
†2. To exert oneself for the attainment of some object; to endeavour; to strive. Obs.
a. refl.[= OF. se porchacier ‘s'efforcer, s'activer’ (11th c.).] [1292Britton v. xii. §3 Le tenaunt se purchace de amesurer la dowarie [transl. let the tenant proceed for admeasurement of the dower]. ]c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 7344 Þey..byddem go purchace þem best, To seke oþer lond & lede. c1450Lovelich Grail li. 331 Pharans purchased him that ilke day..that he hadde geten hym An Asse.
b. intr.
1481Caxton Godeffroy 191, I wote not how many poure pylgryms that wente pourchasshyng yf they myght fynde ony vytaylles in the countre. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxlvii. 177 The Cardynall..purchased somoche that a truse was taken bytwene y⊇ kynges of Englande and of Fraunce. a1533― Huon lxxxii. 253 He purchaseth for your deth. 1607Shakes. Timon iii. ii. 52 That I shold Purchase..for a little part, and vndo a great deale of Honour. 1674Earl of Essex Let. 17 Mar. (1770) 104 Mr. justice Jones purchased hard for it [to be made chief Justice].
†3.
a. trans. To bring about, cause, effect, produce; to obtain, procure, manage. Const. to or for a person, or with dative. Obs.
c1330Arth. & Merl. 216 Nil Ich me nothing auentour, To purchas a fole gret honour. 1375Barbour Bruce vii. 496 And went..to hunt & play, Forto purchase thame venysoun. 1390Gower Conf. Prol. 129 The werre wol no pes purchace. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 232 None ought not to complayne my deth, sith that I have purchaced it myself. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxvii. 231 Ye haue founde here an yll brother, syn he hath purchased for you so moche yll. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 176 As a Priest, he did earne, and purchace peace. 1678Sir G. Mackenzie Crim. Laws Scot. ii. Acts Convict. (1699) 285 Accused, and pursued be vertue of Crimes purchast be him.
†b. intr. To arrange, make provision, provide. Const. for. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Man of Law's T. 775 Ffor wynd and weder almyghty god purchace And brynge hire hoom. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 176 In every ffelaship so for thysilf purchace. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour lxxxiii, Lyke the lyonesse..of all her faons she loueth best hym that best can purchace for hym self. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. lxxii. 93, I trust I shall purchase for suche a capitayne, that ye shal be all reconforted.
II.
†4.
a. trans. To procure for oneself, acquire, obtain, get possession of; to gain. Obs.
[a1135Leges Wilhelm. Conq. (MS. c 1230) i. xiv, Li apelur jurra sur lui..que pur haur nel fait ne pur auter chose, se pur sun dreit nun purchacer.] c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 87/32 Þat huy [Ursula] þe purchace clene maidenes: with þe to habbe in þi boure. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 360 Corineus..wende alond to honti..Vor to porchassi hom mete. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14463 He purchased hym, þorow robberye, Men ynowe, & fair nauye. c1386Chaucer Pars. T. ⁋992 He hopeth for to lyue longe and for to purchacen muche richesse for his delit. c1460Oseney Reg. 38 All thynges þe which the church of Saynte Marye..lawfully hath i-purchased [L. adepta est]. 1549Compl. Scot. xii. 100 It sal be ane lang tyme or the romans can purches sa grit ane armye contrar ȝou. 1600Surflet Countrie Farme i. iv. 11 The water..purchaseth from the lead an euill qualitie. 1630R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 314 If..two or three united Cantons purchase any bootie by their peculiar Armes. 1703M. Martin Western Isles 287 With these rude hooks, and a few sorry fishing lines, they purchas'd fish for their maintenance.
b. To obtain from a constituted authority (a mandatory or permissive instrument, as a brief, a licence, etc.); spec. in Law, to purchase a writ, to sue out, to obtain and issue a writ; hence, to commence an action. Obs. exc. Hist.
[1292Britton ii. xvii. §4 Si le bref fust purchacé avaunt la disseisine.] a1300Cursor M. 19606 And þar-on purchest he þar breue For to seke..Cristen men. c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. 6 Whan Macmorgh hade the kynges lettres thus y-purchasede. 1553Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 238 b, All thoe yt purchasen letters of any Lordes court. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 153 He could not alienate one acre without purchasing a licence. 1876Digby Real Prop. v. §2. 222 note, ‘Purchasing’ a writ was the usual expression for commencing an action by suing out a writ, for which the usual fees must be paid, notwithstanding the provision of Magna Carta (c. 40), ‘Nulli vendemus..justitiam’.
†c. To gain, get to, reach (a port). Obs. rare—1.
1587R. Tomson Voy. W. Ind. in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 582 One of the shippes of our company..went that night with the land: thinking in the morning to purchase the port of S. John de Vllua.
5. spec.
a. Law. To acquire (property, esp. land) otherwise than by inheritance or descent; sometimes, to get by conquest in war. Obs. or arch.
[1278Rolls of Parlt. I. 10/2 Pur ceo qe la terre est de ancient demene le Roy u nul neste put purchaser par la commune ley.] 1303[implied in purchaser 2]. c1330[see purchased ppl. a. 1]. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 433 Ga purches land quhar euir he may, For tharoff haffys he nane perfay. 1398Trevisa Barth. de P.R. vi. xiv. (Bodl. MS.), Þe fadir..purchaseth lond and heritage for his children alwey [L. acquirere..non desistit]. c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. 30 Al hys thoght & all hys wylle, was nyghte & day, wyth all hys myȝht to wend in-to Irland..to do hym yn adventur, lond to purchace yn vnked land. 1435Rolls of Parlt. IV. 487/1 The Manoirs, Londes,..and Possessions, purchaced or amortised. 1503–4Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 15 §4 Yf eny bondeman purches eny landes..in fee symple. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iv. 14 His faults in him..Hereditarie, Rather then purchaste. 1682[see purchased].
†b. intr. To acquire possessions; to become rich. Obs.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1342 Swilk men purchaces and gaders fast, And fares als þis lyfe suld ay last. c1386Chaucer Prol. 608 He [the Reve] koude bettre than his lord purchace; fful riche he was astored pryuely. 1390Gower Conf. II. 194 Riht so is Covoitise afaited To loke where he mai pourchace. 1623Webster Devil's Law-case iv. i, Were all of his mind, to entertain no suits But such they thought were honest, sure our lawyers Would not purchase half so fast. 1623–33Fletcher & Shirley Night-Walker i. i, Why should that Scrivener..Purchase perpetually, and I a rascal?
6. a. trans. To acquire by the payment of money or its equivalent; to buy. (Now the chief sense.)
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 252 And purchace al þe pardoun of Pampiloun & Rome. 1393Ibid. C. iv. 32 And porchace ȝow prouendres while ȝoure pans lasteþ. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 602/18 Peronizo, to purchase. 1611Bible Gen. xxv. 10 The field which Abraham purchased of the sonnes of Heth. 1611Cotgr., Acheter, to buy, to purchase. a1727Newton Chronol. Amended v. (1728) 339 He that received money of the People for purchasing things for the Sacrifices. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. iv. 214 To buy wool for her majesty's use, to purchase oyl for her lamps. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, ‘We must purchase our tickets,’ said Mr. Tupman.
b. fig. To obtain, acquire, or gain (something immaterial) at the cost or as the result of something figured as the price paid; esp. to acquire by toil, suffering, danger, or the like; to earn, win; to bring upon oneself, incur (mischief).
c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 51 He þat gyues his good to hem þat hauys no myster, he purchases no louynge þerof. c1450Lovelich Grail xliii. 476 For be that deth he hym Ouercam, And purchaced lif to Every Cristen Man. 1456Paston Lett. I. 405, I..do purchasse malgre to remembre of evidenses lakkyng by negligence. 1521–2Wolsey in Furnivall Ballads fr. MSS. I. 335 Þat þou may purches hevyn to mede. 1548–77Vicary Anat. Ep. Ded. (1888) 6 [They] purchased eternal prayse by their study and cunning in Phisicke and Surgery. 1680Otway Orphan i. i, The Honours he has gain'd are justly his; He purchas'd them in War. 1709Steele & Swift Tatler No. 68 ⁋4 He that commends himself, never purchases our Applause; nor he who bewails himself, our Pity. 1741tr. D'Argen's Chinese Lett. xx. 141 At length they all perish'd, and made the Japonese purchase their Death by the Loss of 3000 of their Soldiers. 1778F. Burney Evelina (1791) II. xxx. 180 Dearly, indeed, do I purchase experience! 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 183 The victory was purchased by the death of Rhiwallon.
c. With money or its equivalent as the subject.
1805M. G. Lewis Bravo of Venice ii. vi. 214 Will ten thousand sequins purchase your departure from the republic? 1904L. Tracy King of Diamonds iii. 35 An establishment where threehalfpence would purchase a cup of coffee and a ‘doorstep’. 1916G. B. Shaw Androcles & Lion p. xciv, Such pleasures as money can purchase are suppressed.
d. absol.
1850T. S. Arthur Golden Grains 50 He purchased largely and had the goods forwarded before he left the city. 1904R. M. Williamson Bits from Bookshop x. 77 The great public libraries where..books are lent out for hire to those who wish to read but cannot purchase.
III. 7. Naut. To haul in, draw in (a rope or cable); spec. to haul up (the anchor) by means of the capstan; hence, to haul up, hoist, or raise (anything) by the aid of a mechanical power, as by the wheel-and-axle, pulley, or lever. Cf. purchase n. III.
From quot. a 1625 this appears to have arisen as a nautical use of sense 4, with the notion of ‘gaining’, applied at first to hauling in a rope with the two hands so as to ‘gain’ one portion after another, and to have been extended to hauling with the capstan, and so at length to the advantage gained by any mechanical power.
1567Admiralty Crt. Act xii., 29 May, [Commission is awarded]..to recover, purchase, wey and bring to lande one sonken or wrecked shipp. a1625Nomencl. Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301) lf. 60 b, To Purchase Wee Call the gaining or Coming in of a Roape by our haling of it in with our handes, or heauing of it in at y⊇ Capstaine or otherwise Purchasing; as the Capstaine doth purchase apace that is it drawes in the Cabell apace, or the Tackles doe purchase, and the Contrarie where wee cannot purchase with the Roape, Tackle, or the like Neate. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. i. xvi. (1692) 80. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I. 1711 W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 141 Pendants of the Main and Foremast ought to be as big as the Shrowds, since they purchace a great Weight of Boats and Anchors. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 180 In purchasing the anchor, the cable parted, and I lost it. 1768J. Byron Narr. Patagonia (ed. 2) 28 We were usually obliged to purchase such things as were within reach by means of large hooks fastened to poles. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §143 In this situation a strong hawser..being passed under one of the arms of the anchor,..the whole suspension was in that manner purchased. Ibid., note, A piece of strong timber overlaying the bows of a vessel, containing sheaves, or a roller for purchasing the anchor. 1835Marryat Jac. Faithf. ii, Purchase the anchor I could not; I therefore slipped the cable. 1836― Midsh. Easy xxiv, After one or two attempts, he lowered down the steps and contrived to bump her [an old lady] on the first, from the first he purchased her on the second, and from the second he at last seated her at the door of the carriage. |