For modern writers, boughten is not a dictionary-approved inflection of the verb to buy. Still, it is sometimes used colloquially as a past-perfect or past-participle, and it was once more common than it is today. For example, it appears in these old works of literature:
But I interrupted him by telling him truly that no hired tears would fall on his beloved face if I outlived him, and no boughten groans would be hearn. [Around the World with Josiah Allen's Wife by Marietta Holley, via Project Gutenberg]
He relied / On Henriot's aid--the Commune's villain friendship, / And Henriot's boughten succours. [The Fall of Robespierre by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, via Project Gutenberg]The tip is strong enough, if it hasn’t rotted, and she handles almost as good as a boughten rod. [The Young Alaskans On the Missouri by Emerson Hough, via Project Gutenberg]
Although boughten lives on through certain dialects and the occasional slip of the tongue (when the speaker forms boughten by analogy with participles like broken, frozen, and given), it’s now become rare and does not turn up in formal writing or in publications with high editorial standards. Bought is widely used for the past-tense, past-perfect, and past-participle forms of buy—for example:
Mr. Shahzad bought the vehicle from a Connecticut woman . . . [NY Times]
Overseas investors have bought 303.1 billion rupees of Indian equities this year . . . [Business Week]
Want better flavor without losing the convenience of your favorite store-bought meals and sauces? [Philly Burbs]
