Exchange

Pronunciation

• IPA: /É›kstʃeɪndÊ’/

From Middle English eschaunge, from Anglo-Norman eschaunge, from Old French eschange (whence modern French échange), from the verb eschanger, from Vulgar Latin *excambiāre, present active infinitive of *excambiō (from Latin ex with Late Latin cambiō). Spelling later changed on the basis of ex- in English.

Full definition of exchange

Noun

1. An act of exchanging or trading.All in all, it was an even exchange.an exchange of cattle for grain
2. A place for conducting trading.The stock exchange is open for trading.
3. A telephone exchange.
4. (telephony, US only?) The fourth through sixth digits of a ten-digit phone number (the first three before the introduction of area codes).The 555 exchange is reserved for use by the phone company, which is why it's often used in films.NPA-NXX-1234 is standard format, where NPA is the area code and NXX is the exchange.
5. A conversation.After an exchange with the manager, we were no wiser.
6. (chess) The loss of one piece and associated capture of another
1. (usually with "the") The loss of a relatively minor piece (typically a bishop or knight) and associated capture of the more advantageous rook
7. (obsolete) The thing given or received in return; especially, a publication exchanged for another.

Derived terms

From Middle English eschaungen, from Anglo-Norman eschaungier, eschanger, from the Old French verb eschangier, eschanger (whence modern French échanger), from Vulgar Latin *excambiāre, present active infinitive of *excambiō (from Latin ex with Late Latin cambiō).

Verb

1. (transitive) To trade or barter.I'll gladly exchange my place for yours.
2. (transitive) To replace with, as a substitute.I'd like to exchange this shirt for one in a larger size.Since his arrest, the mob boss has exchanged a mansion for a jail cell.

Derived terms