the.com/purchase
The moment desire becomes accounting, and the wallet quietly mourns.
means To buy something — to acquire it by paying money; also, the firm grip or leverage that lets a thing hold or move.
from From Old French 'porchacier,' to chase after, pursue, or strive to obtain — built from 'por-' (forth, forward) and 'chacier' (to chase, the same root that gives us 'chase' itself). So to purchase was once to hunt a thing down. Only later did the chase shrink into the simple act of paying. The 'grip/leverage' sense — as in a foothold or a tool getting 'purchase' — comes from that same idea of laying firm hold on what you've pursued.
- old meaning
- Originally meant to chase or pursue prey
- physics term
- A grip or leverage point, no money involved
- impulse rule
- Stores place candy at checkout deliberately
- buyer's remorse
- Regret spikes after purchases over rational need
louisiana purchase — united states bought 828,000 square miles from france for $15 million in 1803
alaska purchase — united states bought alaska from russia for $7.2 million in 1867
manhattan purchase — dutch colonists bought manhattan from lenape people for goods worth about 60 guilders in 1626