What is "exchange"

exchange \ex*change"\ ([e^]ks*ch[=a]nj"), n. [OE. eschange, eschaunge, OF. eschange, fr. eschangier, F. ['e]changer, to exchange; pref. ex- out + F. changer. See Change, and cf. Excamb.]

1. The act of giving or taking one thing in return for another which is regarded as an equivalent; as, an exchange of cattle for grain.

2. The act of substituting one thing in the place of another; as, an exchange of grief for joy, or of a scepter for a sword, and the like; also, the act of giving and receiving reciprocally; as, an exchange of civilities or views.

3. The thing given or received in return; esp., a publication exchanged for another.
   --Shak.

4. (Com.) The process of setting accounts or debts between parties residing at a distance from each other, without the intervention of money, by exchanging orders or drafts, called bills of exchange. These may be drawn in one country and payable in another, in which case they are called foreign bills; or they may be drawn and made payable in the same country, in which case they are called inland bills. The term bill of exchange is often abbreviated into exchange; as, to buy or sell exchange.

   Note: A in London is creditor to B in New York, and C in London owes D in New York a like sum. A in London draws a bill of exchange on B in New York; C in London purchases the bill, by which A receives his debt due from B in New York. C transmits the bill to D in New York, who receives the amount from B.

5. (Law) A mutual grant of equal interests, the one in consideration of the other. Estates exchanged must be equal in quantity, as fee simple for fee simple.
   --Blackstone.

6. The place where the merchants, brokers, and bankers of a city meet at certain hours, to transact business; also, the institution which sets regulations and maintains the physical facilities of such a place; as, the New York Stock Exchange; a commodity exchange. In this sense the word was at one time often contracted to 'change

   Arbitration of exchange. See under Arbitration.

   Bill of exchange. See under Bill.

   Exchange broker. See under Broker.

   Par of exchange, the established value of the coin or standard of value of one country when expressed in the coin or standard of another, as the value of the pound sterling in the currency of France or the United States. The par of exchange rarely varies, and serves as a measure for the rise and fall of exchange that is affected by the demand and supply. Exchange is at par when, for example, a bill in New York, for the payment of one hundred pounds sterling in London, can be purchased for the sum. Exchange is in favor of a place when it can be purchased there at or above par.

   Telephone exchange, a central office in which the wires of any two telephones or telephone stations may be connected to permit conversation.

   Syn: Barter; dealing; trade; traffic; interchange.

late 14c., "act of reciprocal giving and receiving," from Anglo-French eschaunge, Old French eschange (Modern French échange), from Late Latin excambium, from excambiare, from Latin ex- "out" (see ex-) + cambire "barter" (see change (v.)). Practice of merchants or lenders meeting to exchange bills of debt led to meaning "building for mercantile business" (1580s).

late 15c., from Old French eschangier "exchange, barter" (Modern French échanger), from Vulgar Latin *excambiare (source of Italian scambiare); see exchange (n.). Related: Exchanged; exchanging.

Etymology 1 n. 1 An act of exchanging or trading. 2 A place for conducting trading. 3 A telephone exchange. 4 (''telephony, US only?'') The fourth through sixth digits of a ten-digit phone number (the first three before the introduction of area codes). 5 A conversation. 6 (context chess English) The loss of one piece and associated capture of another 7 # (context usually with "the" English) The loss of a relatively minor piece (typically a bishop or knight) and associated capture of the more advantageous rook 8 (context obsolete English) The thing given or received in return; especially, a publication exchanged for another. 9 (cx biochemistry English) The transfer of substances or elements like gas, amino-acids, ions etc. sometimes through a surface like a membrane. Etymology 2

vb. 1 (context transitive English) To trade or barter. 2 (context transitive English) To replace with, as a substitute.

1. n. chemical process in which one atom or ion or group changes places with another

2. a mutual expression of views (especially an unpleasant one); "they had a bitter exchange"

3. the act of changing one thing for another thing; "Adam was promised immortality in exchange for his disobedience"; "there was an exchange of prisoners"

4. the act of giving something in return for something received; "deductible losses on sales or exchanges of property are allowable"

5. a workplace that serves as a telecommunications facility where lines from telephones can be connected together to permit communication [syn: central, telephone exchange]

6. a workplace for buying and selling; open only to members

7. (sports) an unbroken sequence of several successive strokes; "after a short rally Connors won the point" [syn: rally]

8. reciprocal transfer of equivalent sums of money especially the currencies of different countries; "he earns his living from the interchange of currency" [syn: interchange]

9. the act of putting one thing or person in the place of another: "he sent Smith in for Jones but the substitution came too late to help" [syn: substitution, commutation]

10. (chess) gaining (or losing) a rook in return for a knight or bishop; "black lost the exchange"

11. (chess) the capture by both players (usually on consecutive moves) of pieces of equal value; "the endgame began after the exchange of queens"

1. v. give to, and receive from, one another; "Would you change places with me?"; "We have been exchanging letters for a year" [syn: change, interchange]

2. exchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or category; "Could you convert my dollars into pounds?"; "He changed his name"; "convert centimeters into inches"; "convert holdings into shares" [syn: change, commute, convert]

3. change over, change around, or switch over [syn: switch over, switch]

4. hand over one and receive another, approximately equivalent; "exchange prisoners"; "exchange employees between branches of the company"

5. exchange a penalty for a less severe one [syn: commute, convert]

Exchange may refer to:

Exchange is a split album by the ska punk band Against All Authority and the punk rock band, The Criminals. It was first released in 1999 on Sub City Records.

An exchange, or bourse , is a highly organized market where (especially) tradable securities, commodities, foreign exchange, futures, and options contracts are sold and bought.

exchange is a mini-album in collaboration with japanese singer ASUKA and japanese musician Akira Yokota (PONCHAN).

"Exchange" is a song by American singer Bryson Tiller. It was released on September 21, 2015, as the second single from his debut studio album Trapsoul (2015). The song contains a sample of K.P. & Envyi's 1998 song " Swing My Way".

In the tactics and strategy in the board game of chess, an exchange (exchanging) or trade (trading) of chess pieces is series of closely related moves, typically sequential, in which the two players capture each other's pieces. Any types of pieces except the kings may possibly be exchanged, i.e. captured in an exchange, although a king can capture an opponent's piece. Either the player of the white or the black pieces may make the first capture of the other player's piece in an exchange, followed by the other player capturing a piece of the first player, often referred to as a recapture. Commonly, the word "exchange" is used when the pieces exchanged are of the same type or of about equal value, which is an even exchange. According to chess tactics, a bishop and a knight are usually of about equal value. If the values of the pieces exchanged are not equal, then the player who captures the higher value of piece(s) can be said to be up the exchange or wins the exchange, while the opponent who captures the lower value of piece(s) is down the exchange or loses the exchange. Exchanges occur very frequently in chess, in almost every game and usually multiple times per game. Exchanges are often related to the tactics or strategy in a chess game, but often simply occur over the course of a game.

The exchange of a rook for bishop or knight is an uneven exchange because a rook is generally more valuable than a bishop or knight. A minor exchange is a less commonly used term which refers to the capture of the opponent's bishop for the player's knight.