Meaning

verb obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction

verb make illegal payments to in exchange for favors or influence

verb be worth or be capable of buying

originFrom Middle English bought, bowght, bouȝt, *buȝt, probably an alteration of bight, biȝt, byȝt (“bend, bight”) after bowen, buwen, buȝen (“to bow, bend”). Cognate with Scots boucht, bucht, bout (“bend”). More at bight and bout.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0