Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The buying and selling of goods, especially on a large scale, as between cities or nations. synonym: business.
  • noun Intellectual exchange or social interaction.
  • noun Sexual intercourse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Interchange of goods, merchandise, or property of any kind; trade; traffic: used more especially of trade on a large scale, carried on by transportation of merchandise between different countries, or between different parts of the same country, distinguished as foreign commerce and internal commerce: as, the commerce between Great Britain and the United States, or between New York and Boston; to be engaged in commerce.
  • noun Social intercourse; fellowship; mutual dealings in common life; intercourse in general.
  • noun Sexual intercourse.
  • noun A game of cards, played by any number of persons, in which a hand of five cards is dealt to each player, the two players having the poorest hands retiring from the game, this being continued until only two persons are left, who are declared the winners and receive prizes. If, during play, a person in the game speaks to another out of it, he forfeits his hand to him.
  • noun Synonyms Business.
  • noun Communication; communion; intercourse.
  • To traffic; carry on trade; deal.
  • To hold social intercourse; commune.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; esp. the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.
  • noun Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity.
  • noun Sexual intercourse.
  • noun A round game at cards, in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade.
  • noun See Chamber.
  • intransitive verb obsolete To carry on trade; to traffic.
  • intransitive verb To hold intercourse; to commune.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun business The exchange or buying and selling of commodities; especially the exchange of merchandise, on a large scale, between different places or communities; extended trade or traffic.
  • noun Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity.
  • noun Sexual intercourse.
  • noun A round game at cards, in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade.
  • verb dated To carry on trade; to traffic.
  • verb dated To hold intercourse; to commune.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the United States federal department that promotes and administers domestic and foreign trade (including management of the census and the patent office); created in 1913
  • noun transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)
  • noun social exchange, especially of opinions, attitudes, etc.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, from Latin commercium : com-, com- + merx, merc-, merchandise.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French commerce, from Latin commercium ("commerce, trade"), from com- ("together") + merx ("good, wares, merchandise"); see merchant, mercenary

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