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caveat emptor

[kav-ee-aht emp-tawr, -at, kah-vee-, key-; Latin kah-we-aht emp-tohr]
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noun

let the buyer beware: the principle that the seller of a product cannot be held responsible for its quality unless it is guaranteed in a warranty.

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Origin of caveat emptor

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1515–25
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for caveat emptor

caveat emptor

noun

the principle that the buyer must bear the risk for the quality of goods purchased unless they are covered by the seller's warranty

Word Origin for caveat emptor

Latin: let the buyer beware
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for caveat emptor

Latin, literally "let the buyer beware;" see caveat and second element of exempt (adj.).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for caveat emptor

Caveat emptor

[(kav-ee-aht, kah-vee-aht emp-tawr)]

Latin for “Let the buyer beware.” It means that a customer should be cautious and alert to the possibility of being cheated: “Caveat emptor is the first rule of buying a used car.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.