merchant

[ mur-chuhnt ]

noun

1. a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.
2. a storekeeper; retailer:

   a local merchant who owns a store on Main Street.

3. Chiefly British. a wholesaler.

adjective

1. pertaining to or used for trade or commerce:

   a merchant ship.

2. pertaining to the merchant marine.
3. Steelmaking. (of bars and ingots) of standard shape or size.

merchant

¹

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. a person engaged in the purchase and sale of commodities for profit, esp on international markets; trader
2. a person engaged in retail trade
3. (esp in historical contexts) any trader
4. derogatory.
   a person dealing or involved in something undesirable

   a gossip merchant

5. modifier
   1. of the merchant navy

      a merchant sailor

   2. of or concerned with trade

      a merchant ship

verb

1. tr to conduct trade in; deal in

Merchant

²

/ ˈmɜːtʃənt /

noun

1. MerchantIsmail19362005MIndianFILMS AND TV: producer Ismail (ˈɪzmeɪəl). 1936–2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)

Derived Forms

• ˈmerchant-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• merchant·like adjective
• outmerchant noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of merchant¹

1250–1300; Middle English marchant < Old French marcheant < Vulgar Latin *mercātant- (stem of *mercātāns ), present participle of *mercātāre, frequentative of Latin mercārī to trade, derivative of merx goods

Word History and Origins

Origin of merchant¹

C13: from Old French, probably from Vulgar Latin mercātāre (unattested), from Latin mercārī to trade, from merx goods, wares

Example Sentences

The crowd was fired up, delivering cheers for songwriter Natalie Merchant’s rendition of “Put a Woman in Charge” and boos for billionaire tax cuts in equal measure.

From Salon

“Carson the Magnificent” is the offering of an acolyte who saw in Carson, as many did, a man who “launched the dreams of generations, as no golden Hollywood dream merchant might have fathomed, even in metaphor. Never a movie star, he shone maybe bigger anyhow.”

From Los Angeles Times

Like every merchant in Lake George, Massry works like a dog from Memorial Day to Labor Day, making his entire nut for the year in that three-month stretch.

From Slate

But as with any good tale from the past, the son of cotton merchant - who is a member of India's supremely wealthy Tata clan - has quite a story.

From BBC

Saklatvala was the son of Dorabji, a cotton merchant, and Jerbai, the youngest daughter of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, who founded the Tata Group.

From BBC

Related Words

• broker
• dealer
• exporter
• operator
• retailer
• seller
• shipper
• shopkeeper
• trader
• trafficker
• vendor
• wholesaler