# sale

> English word · Noun · IPA /seːl/ · frequency rank #1,110

## Definitions
1. An exchange of goods or services for currency or credit.
2. Ellipsis of discount sale (“the sale of goods at reduced prices”).
3. The act of putting up for auction to the highest bidder.

## Etymology
From Middle English sale, from Old English sala (“act of selling, sale”), from Old Norse sala (“sale”), from Proto-Germanic *salō (“delivery”), from Proto-Indo-European *selh₁- (“to grab”).

## Easily confused with
- **se** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-se)
- **SL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sl)
- **she** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-she)
- **see** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-see)
- **say** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-say)
- **saw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-saw)
- **san** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-san)
- **Sam** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sam)
- **sat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sat)
- **sue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sue)
- **sol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sol)
- **sap** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sap)
- **SAS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sas)
- **sly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sly)
- **SQL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sql)
- **Sao** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sao)
- **SNL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-snl)
- **Sar** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sar)
- **sax** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sax)
- **sie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sale-vs-sie)

## Common misspellings (4)
`asle`, `sael`, `slae`, `ssale`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sale