Etymology

From Old High German kouf, from Proto-Germanic *kaupaz, *kaupô ‎(“inn-keeper, merchant”), *kaupōną, *kaupijaną ‎(“to buy, purchase”), from Latin caupo ‎(“tradesman, innkeeper, huckster”), cauponari ‎(“to traffic, trade”), caupo ‎(“tradesman, inn-keeper”), from Proto-Indo-European *kaup-, *ḱaup-, *kwap-, *ḱwap- ‎(“merchant”), related to Ancient Greek κάπηλος ‎(kápēlos, “huckster”). Cognate with English cheap, North Frisian keap ‎(“purchase”), West Frisian keap ‎(“purchase, buy, acquisition”), Dutch koop ‎(“buy, purchase, deal”), kopen ‎(“to buy, purchase, shop”), Low German kopen ‎(“to buy”), Swedish köp ‎(“bargain, purchase”), köpa ‎(“to buy, purchase”), Icelandic kaup ‎(“purchase, bargain”), kaupa ‎(“to purchase”), Finnish kauppa ‎(“shop”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kaʊ̯f/
• Rhymes: -aʊ̯f