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gift exchange |
Also found in: Medical, Legal, Financial, Wikipedia | 0.06 sec. |
gift exchangeTransfer of goods or services that, although regarded as voluntary by those involved, is part of expected social behaviour. First studied by Marcel Mauss, the gift-exchange cycle entails obligations to give, receive, and return, each phase being surrounded with sanctions and calculations involving prestige and the maintenance of social relations. Some sacrifices may be viewed as gifts to supernatural powers from which a return in the form of aid or approval is expected; and the transfer of women in marriage between kin groups usually involves social obligations similar to those found in gift exchange. See also potlatch. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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79-96) objects (politely) to Stansell's reading of Genesis 23 as an attempted gift exchange that Abraham turns into a commercial exchange in order to avoid entering into a endless cycle of reciprocity. There will be a potluck luncheon party and $10 gift exchange at the executive board meeting on Dec. They did not have much money or time, and they needed to feel independent enough to reciprocate in gift exchanges. |
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