Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. One whose occupation is the wholesale purchase and retail sale of goods for profit.
- n. One who runs a retail business; a shopkeeper.
- adj. Of or relating to merchants, merchandise, or commercial trade: a merchant guild.
- adj. Of or relating to the merchant marine: merchant ships.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. One who is engaged in the business of buying commercial commodities and selling them again for the sake of profit; especially, one who buys and sells in quantity or by wholesale. One who buys without selling again, or who sells without having bought, as where one sells products of his own labor, or who buys and sells exclusively articles not the subject of ordinary commerce, or who buys and sells commercial articles on salary and not for profit, is not usually termed a merchant. Those who buy or sell on a commission for others are termed commission-merchants. In the law of bankruptcy, which forbids a discharge to merchants and traders who have not kept proper books of account, the term has a more extended meaning, having been held to include a livery-stable keeper who buys hay and grain and indirectly sells it by boarding horses, but not a broker who speculates in stocks.
- n. A supercargo; the person in charge of the business affairs of a trading expedition.
- n. A merchant ship or vessel; a merchantman.
- n. A shop-keeper or store-keeper.
- n. 5. A fellow; a chap.
- Relating to trade or commerce; commercial: as, the law merchant. See law.
- Pertaining to merchants; belonging to the mercantile class; engaged or used in trade or commerce.
- To trade; buy or sell; deal; barter; traffic; negotiate.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. One who traffics on a large scale, especially with foreign countries; a trafficker; a trader.
- n. obsolete A trading vessel; a merchantman.
- n. U. S. & Scot. One who keeps a store or shop for the sale of goods; a shopkeeper.
- adj. Of, pertaining to, or employed in, trade or merchandise.
- v. obsolete To be a merchant; to trade.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a businessperson engaged in retail trade
Etymologies
- From Middle English marchant, from Anglo-Norman marchant, from Latin mercans ("a buyer"), present participle of mercor ("trade, traffic, buy"), from merx ("merchandise, traffic"), from merere ("to gain, buy, purchase, also deserve, merit"); see mercy and merit. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English merchaunt, from Old French marcheant, from Vulgar Latin *mercātāns, present participle of *mercātāre, frequentative of Latin mercārī, to trade, from merx, merc-, merchandise. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Mr. Robinson's arrival was several years after Gap's 1990s heyday, under former CEO Millard "Mickey" Drexler, who now runs J.Crew Group Inc. Mr. Drexler, whose eye for style earned him the nickname "merchant prince," had carried Gap through a period of explosive growth alongside the advent of "business casual" attire.”
“The French accordingly, judging from what they see at home, have a very contemptible idea of the term merchant; and if a foreign traveller of this class should wish to be admitted into good company, let him pass by any other name than that of a marchand or negociant.”
“On another matter, great news from India - the government is considering privatized airports, but using the term merchant airports.”
“To the Chinese the merchant is the most important member of the community, he is the most honoured, and consequently, I am told, the Chinese merchant, being honoured is honourable.”
“Mr. ROSS MIRKARIMI (Supervisor, District 5, San Francisco): They're using Haight Street for right or wrong reasons as the poster child, but it's a citywide law, both in merchant quarters and residential communities, neighborhoods.”
“While thus equipping, myself to become a brain merchant, it was inevitable that I should delve into sociology.”
“Our survey of 10 games on both sites suggests that the Amazon merchant is offering a slight premium to GameStop for a number of trade-ins.”
Amazon Announces Game Trade-In Program To Compete With GameStop - The Consumerist
“If a merchant is suspicious of you, they are supposed to make a "Code 10" call.”
10 Things You Might Not Know About Your Credit Card - The Consumerist
“No oracular revelations, though I did enjoy his definition of merchant banking, a term whose meaning had always eluded me.”
“When investigating the disappearance of a grain merchant, the three nice discover signs of the existence of a traitor, and end up uncovering a conspiracy that could lead to civil war.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘merchant’.
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RELI - words with Biblical connotations
Words in the Bible evoking biblical stories or with special spiritual meaning. Proper names have been reduced to the minimum.
ark, judgement, holy, saint, baptism, spirit, love, eternal, altar, balsam, covenant, flood and 1115 more...
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[Open] Frequentative
“A verb which denotes the frequent occurrence or repetition of an action, as . . . waggle from wag.” — Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia.
Other examples include bobble (bob), bustle (b...dartle, stutter, agitate, dabble, waggle, aid, argue, daunt, expect, excite, espouse, dictate and 77 more...
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eggplantia5's Words
scintillate, marvel, cranberry, oscillate, triumph, bamboozle, grimace, magical, book, hexagon, cipher, compendium and 2727 more...
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Basic English Vocabulary
Very basic words for ESL students.
a, abandon, ability, able, abortion, about, above, abroad, absence, absolute, absolutely, absorb and 4334 more...
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European World Systems
europe, colonization, defense, barter, feudalism, gunpowder, technology, guns, domination, lords, monarchs, transition and 250 more...
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my dictionary
able, abnormally, abroad, absent, abstract, acceptable, acceptance, access, accessible, accession, according to, account and 4551 more...
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Trades Featured in R. Campbell's The ...
Hey kids! What do YOU want to be when you grow up?!
Reprint edition, Devon: Latimer Trend & Co., Ltd., 1969. Full original citation (you'd better grab a drink and sit down) is:
...woollen draper, wood monger, wood cutter, wine cooper, woolsted man, wool card maker, wool comber, wool stapler, wire drawer, whalebone-man, whip maker, weaver and 343 more...
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Terms for People
pundit, puritan, cretin, popinjay, jackanape, schlemiel, diplomat, ambassador, partisan, apostle, disciple, puppet and 71 more...
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Reading Class
weak, grumble, grudgingly, lingered, beneath, prideful, arrogant, prosperity, servant, merchant, scorned
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