barter

英 ['bɑːtə(r)] 美 ['bɑːrtər]

v.物物交换；以货易货 n.物物交换；实物交易

◉Etymology

“Barter” 这个词源于古法语 “barater”，意为“交易、交换”。它最早在15世纪被引入英语，最初指的是不使用货币进行交换的行为。与“以物换物”密切相关，barter 被广泛应用于缺乏货币或在某些社区中更倾向于通过物物交换来进行交易的场合。

◉外刊例句

① 《经济学人》 (The Economist), 2023年9月25日

“In an effort to circumvent inflation, many communities are turning to barter systems to sustain their local economies.”

“为了规避通货膨胀，许多社区开始依赖以物易物的方式来维持当地经济。”

② 《财新周刊》 (Caixin Weekly), 2023年1月18日

“Bartering can foster a sense of community, as individuals come together to exchange goods and services.”

“以物易物可以促进社区的凝聚力，因为个人通过交换商品和服务而走到一起。”

◉经典名著

在马尔克斯的小说《百年孤独》（One Hundred Years of Solitude）中，作者可能描写了小镇上人们以物易物的生活方式：

“The villagers relied on barter, exchanging crops for tools, reflecting their close-knit community spirit.”

“村民们依靠以物易物，互换农作物和工具，反映出他们紧密团结的社区精神。”

◉Usage Examples

(1) They used to barter for horses with salt.

(2) The colonists bartered calico for Indian land.

(3) The prisoners tried to barter with the guards for their freedom.

(4) Some countries had to resort to barter to obtain foreign goods.

(5) On these islands a system of barter is used.

(6) The business is said to be done on barter basis.

(1) 他们过去以食盐交换马匹。

(2) 殖民者以印花布交换印地安人的土地。

(3) 囚犯们企图和看守做换取自由的交易。

(4) 一些国家不得不采取以货易货的方法以得到外国货物。

(5) 在这些岛上仍然实行着物物交换的制度。

(6) 这笔交易据说是按易货方式做的。

◉Usage Notes

If you make a deal with your brother to change the oil in his car in exchange for one of his video games, what you’ve just done is barter — or trade goods and services.

Before money was invented, people traded goods and services in order to acquire the things they needed. An individual might trade, for example, a cow in exchange for help building a shed, or a dozen eggs in exchange for several yards of cloth. To this day people continue to barter for goods and services although this method of commerce is no longer widespread. The verb barter has survived into modern times to refer to making a transaction that involves the exchange of goods or services rather than money.

◉Colins

1. [VERB 动词]以物易物；交换（货物） If you barter goods, you exchange them for other goods, rather than selling them for money. [V n for n] [V] [V n] [oft N n]

They have been bartering wheat for cotton and timber...

他们一直用小麦交换棉花和木材。

The market-place and street were crowded with those who'd come to barter...

市场和街道上挤满了前来做物物交换的人。

Traders came to barter horses.

商人们前来用马匹交换其他物品。

Barter is also a noun.

Overall, barter is a very inefficient means of organizing transactions.

总之，易货贸易是一种效率很低的交易形式。

...a barter economy.

易货经济