Auctions are a venerable selling institution, in use since the time of
Herodotus. The word comes from the Latin
auctus, meaning to increase. An obscure term for auction, one guaranteed to impress friends and neighbors, is the Latin word
subhastare. It is the conjunction of
sub, meaning "under," and
hasta, meaning "spear." After a military victory, a Roman soldier would plant his spear in the ground to mark the location of his spoils. Later, he would put these goods up for sale by auction.
¹The highest bidder was called the
emptor, whence the term
caveat emptor.
— Rakesh V. Vohra