From Middle English bargaynen, from Old French bargaigner, from Frankish *borganjan, from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ-.

Compare French barguigner and Portuguese barganhar.

• (RP) enPR: bägən, IPA: /ˈbɑːɡən/, /-ɡɪn/
• (America) enPR: bärgən, IPA: /ˈbɑːɹɡən/

bargain (plural bargains)

1. An agreement between parties concerning the sale of property; or a contract by which one party binds themself to transfer the right to some property for a consideration, and the other party binds themself to receive the property and pay the consideration.
   • 1883, J. J. S Wharton, Wharton's Law Lexicon:

     A contract is a bargain that is legally binding.

2. An agreement or stipulation; mutual pledge.

   Synonyms: contract, engagement, stipulation

   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act III, scene ii]:

     […] And when your honors mean to solemnize
     The bargain of your faith, I do beseech you,
     Even at that time I may be married too.

3. An item purchased for significantly less than the usual, or recommended, price

   Synonyms: steal

   Antonyms: rip-off

4. A gainful transaction; an advantageous purchase.

   to buy (something) at a bargain

   At that price, it’s not just a bargain, it’s a steal.

   • 1913, Mrs. [Marie] Belloc Lowndes, chapter I, in The Lodger, London: Methuen, →OCLC ↗; republished in Novels of Mystery: The Lodger; The Story of Ivy; What Really Happened, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co., […], [1933], →OCLC ↗, page 0016 ↗:

     Thus the red damask curtains which now shut out the fog-laden, drizzling atmosphere of the Marylebone Road, had cost a mere song, and yet they might have been warranted to last another thirty years. A great bargain also had been the excellent Axminster carpet which covered the floor; […].

5. The thing stipulated or purchased.

   Synonyms: purchase

   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, [Act V, scene ii]:

     If he say so, may his pernicious soul Rot half a grain a day! He lies to th' heart. She was too fond of her most filthy bargain.

• French: accord
• German: Angebot
• Italian: trattativa, accordo, mercanteggiamento
• Portuguese: transação, barganha
• Russian: сде́лка
• Spanish: trato, ganga, bicoca

• German: Vereinbarung, Abmachung

• French: affaire, bonne affaire
• German: Schnäppchen
• Russian: (no equivalent exists) товар, купленный по дешёвка
• Spanish: chollo, ganga, bicoca, momio

• German: Anschaffung, Zukauf, Neuerwerbung

bargain (bargains, present participle bargaining; simple past and past participle bargained)

1. (intransitive) To make a bargain; to make a deal or contract for the exchange of property or services; to negotiate; to haggle.

   They had to bargain for a few minutes to get a decent price for the rug.

   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC ↗, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     So worthless peasants bargain for their wives.
     United we bargain, divided we beg

2. (transitive) To transfer for a consideration; to barter; to trade

• French: marchander, s'accorder, s'arranger
• German: feilschen, markten (archaic)
• Italian: mercanteggiare, trattare, contrattare, negoziare
• Portuguese: barganhar
• Russian: заключать сделку
• Spanish: regatear