Price, n.
Etymology: [OE. pris, OF. pris, F. prix, L. pretium; cf. Gr. pa to buy, OI. renim I sell. Cf. Appreciate, Depreciate, Interpret, Praise, n. & v., Precious, Prize.]
1. The sum or amount of money at which a thing is valued, or the value which a seller sets on his goods in market; that for which something is bought or sold, or offered for sale; equivalent in money or other means of exchange; current value or rate paid or demanded in market or in barter; cost. "Buy wine and milk without money and without price." Isa. lv. 1. We can afford no more at such a price. Shak.
2. Value; estimation; excellence; worth. Her price is far above rubies. Prov. xxxi. 10. New treasures still, of countless price. Keble.
3. Reward; recompense; as, the price of industry. 'T is the price of toil, The knave deserves it when he tills the soil. Pope. Price current, or Price list, a statement or list of the prevailing prices of merchandise, stocks, specie, bills of exchange, etc., published statedly or occasionally.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Price, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Priced; p. pr. & vb. n. Pricing.]
1. To pay the price of. [Obs.] With thine own blood to price his blood. Spenser.
2. To set a price on; to value. See Prize.
3. To ask the price of; as, to price eggs. [Colloq.]
Shades of meaning
The cost of a thing is all that has been expended upon it, whether in discovery, production, refinement, decoration, transportation, or otherwise, to bring it to its present condition in the hands of its present possessor; the price of a thing is what the seller asks for it. In regular business, as a rule, the seller's price on his wares must be more than their cost to him; when goods are sold, the price the buyer has paid becomes their cost to himself. In exceptional cases, when goods are sold at cost, the seller's price is made the same as the cost of the goods to him, the cost to the seller and the cost to the buyer becoming then identical. Price always implies that an article is for sale; what a man will not sell he declines to put a price on; hence the significance of the taunting proverb that "every man has his price." Value is the estimated equivalent for an article, whether the article is for sale or not; the market value is what it would bring if exposed for sale in the open market; the intrinsic value is the inherent utility of the article considered by itself alone; the market value of an old and rare volume may be very great, while its intrinsic value may be practically nothing. Value has always more reference to others' estimation (literally, what the thing will avail with others) than worth, which regards the thing in and by itself; thus, intrinsic value is a weaker expression than intrinsic worth. Charge has especial reference to services, expense to minor outlays; as, the charges of a lawyer or physician; traveling expenses; household expenses.