Adjacent Words

Merchant definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MER'CHANT, n. [L.mercor,to buy.]
1. A man who trafficks or carries on trade with foreign countries,or who exports and imports goods and sells them by wholesale.
2. In popular usage, any trader, or one who deals in the purchase and sale of goods.
3. A ship in trade. [Not used.]
MER'CHANT, v.i. To trade. [Not in use.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a businessperson engaged in retail trade [syn: merchant, merchandiser]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English marchant, from Anglo-French, from Vulgar Latin *mercatant-, mercatans, from present participle of mercatare to trade, frequentative of Latin mercari — more at market Date: 13th century 1. a buyer and seller of commodities for profit ; trader 2. the operator of a retail business ; storekeeper 3. one that is noted for a particular quality or activity ; specialist <a speed merchant on the base paths> • merchant adjective II. verb Date: 14th century intransitive verb archaic to deal or trade as a merchant transitive verb to deal or trade in

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 a wholesale trader, esp. with foreign countries. 2 esp. US & Sc. a retail trader. 3 colloq. usu. derog. a person showing a partiality for a specified activity or practice (speed merchant). Phrases and idioms: merchant bank esp. Brit. a bank dealing in commercial loans and finance. merchant banker a member of a merchant bank. merchant marine US = merchant navy. merchant navy a nation's commercial shipping. merchant prince a wealthy merchant. merchant ship = MERCHANTMAN. Etymology: ME f. OF marchand, marchant ult. f. L mercari trade f. merx mercis merchandise

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Merchant Mer"chant, n. [OE. marchant, OF. marcheant, F. marchand, fr. LL. mercatans, -antis, p. pr. of mercatare to negotiate, L. mercari to traffic, fr. merx, mercis, wares. See Market, Merit, and cf. Commerce.] 1. One who traffics on a large scale, especially with foreign countries; a trafficker; a trader. Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad. --Shak. 2. A trading vessel; a merchantman. [Obs.] --Shak. 3. One who keeps a store or shop for the sale of goods; a shopkeeper. [U. S. & Scot.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Merchant Mer"chant, a. Of, pertaining to, or employed in, trade or merchandise; as, the merchant service. Merchant bar, Merchant iron or steel, certain common sizes of wrought iron and steel bars. Merchant service, the mercantile marine of a country. --Am. Cyc. Merchant ship, a ship employed in commerce. Merchant tailor, a tailor who keeps and sells materials for the garments which he makes.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Merchant Mer"chant, v. i. To be a merchant; to trade. [Obs.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(merchants) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. A merchant is a person who buys or sells goods in large quantities, especially one who imports and exports them. Any knowledgeable wine merchant would be able to advise you. N-COUNT 2. A merchant is a person who owns or runs a shop, store, or other business. (AM; in BRIT, usually use retailer, shopkeeper) The family was forced to live on credit from local merchants. N-COUNT 3. Merchant seamen or ships are involved in carrying goods for trade. There's been a big reduction in the size of the British merchant fleet in recent years. ADJ: ADJ n

Easton's Bible Dictionary

The Hebrew word so rendered is from a root meaning "to travel about," "to migrate," and hence "a traveller." In the East, in ancient times, merchants travelled about with their merchandise from place to place (Gen. 37:25; Job 6:18), and carried on their trade mainly by bartering (Gen. 37:28; 39:1). After the Hebrews became settled in Palestine they began to engage in commercial pursuits, which gradually expanded (49:13; Deut. 33:18; Judg. 5:17), till in the time of Solomon they are found in the chief marts of the world (1 Kings 9:26; 10:11, 26, 28; 22:48; 2 Chr. 1:16; 9:10, 21). After Solomon's time their trade with foreign nations began to decline. After the Exile it again expanded into wider foreign relations, because now the Jews were scattered in many lands.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Trader (particularly a wholesale trader), tradesman, dealer.

Moby Thesaurus

agent, baron, broker, business, businessman, caterer, chandler, commercial, commissariat, commissary, dealer, distributor, donor, drummer, forwarder, furnisher, hawker, huckster, importer, industrial, industrialist, jobber, magnate, manciple, marketer, mercantile, merchandiser, merchant prince, middleman, mogul, monger, patron, provider, provisioner, purveyor, quartermaster, regrater, retail, retail dealer, retail merchant, retailer, seller, shopkeeper, steward, stock clerk, storekeeper, supplier, sutler, trade, trader, tradesman, tradeswoman, trading, trafficker, tycoon, vendor, victualer, vivandier, wholesale, wholesaler