Meaning

noun the acquisition of something for payment

noun something acquired by purchase

noun a means of exerting influence or gaining advantage

originFrom Middle English purchasen, from Anglo-Norman purchacer (“seek to obtain”) from pur- (from Latin pro-) + chac(i)er (“to chase, pursue”). Compare Old French porchacier (“to follow, to chase”), which has given French pourchasser (“to chase without relent”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0