WHOLESALE, noun [whole and sale.] 1. Sale of goods by the piece or large quantity; as distinguished from retail. Some traders sell either by wholesale or retail. 2. The whole mass. Some from vanity or envy, despise a valuable book, and throw contempt upon it by wholesale WHOLESALE, adjective [supra.] 1. Buying and selling by the piece or quantity; as a wholesale merchant or dealer. 2. Pertaining to the trade by the piece or quantity; as the wholesale price.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI