Overpricing

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The practice of determining a selling price that is notably higher than the actual value of a product or service occurs frequently in various sectors
2. Setting a cost that significantly exceeds the real value of a good or service
3. Ascribing a higher than justified price to products or services beyond their market value

Etymology: "Overpricing" is simply the gerund and present participle of "overprice," built by adding the prefix "over-" to "price." The prefix has a long pedigree: it descends from an Old English "ofer," which carries the sense of "above" or "beyond," and it has been attached to English verbs for centuries to mean "too much" or "beyond the proper measure." "Price" comes from the same kind of Latin-derived stock that gave English so many commercial words, but the combination with "over-" is transparent: to overprice something is to set its cost above what it is worth or what the market will bear. The compound follows a pattern that English uses freely, so the word's meaning can be read straight off its parts. Other verbs formed the same way include "overcharge," "overestimate," and "overpay," and these all share the idea of going past a proper limit. Nothing in the record suggests a dramatic shift in sense; the word has stayed close to its literal construction from the start.

Synonyms: exorbitance, inflation

Antonyms: bargaining, discounting