Purchase

pur′chās, v.t. to acquire by seeking: to obtain by paying: to obtain by labour, danger, .: ( law ) to get in any way other than by inheritance: to raise or move by mechanical means: ( Shak. ) to expiate by a fine or forfeit.— n. act of purchasing: that which is purchased or got for a price: value, advantage, worth: any mechanical power or advantage in raising or moving bodies.— adj. Pur′chasable , that may be purchased: (hence of persons) venal, corrupt.— n. Pur′chaser .— Purchase money , the money paid, or to be paid, for anything; Purchase shears , a very strong kind of shears, with removable cutters, and a strong spring at the back; Purchase system , the method by which, before 1871, commi ions in the British army could be bought.—( So many ) years' purchase , a price paid for a house, an estate, . equal to the amount of the rent or income during the stated number of years. [O. Fr. porchacier (Fr. pour chas ser ), to seek eagerly, pursue— pur (L. pro ), for, cha er , to chase.]