merchant

English Online Dictionary. What means merchant‎? What does merchant mean?

English

Alternative forms

• marchant, merchaunt (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English marchaunt, from Anglo-Norman marchaunt, from mercans, from the verb mercor (“I trade, deal, sell”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɝt͡ʃənt/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɜːtʃənt/
• Hyphenation: mer‧chant
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃənt

Noun

merchant (plural merchants)

1. A person who traffics in commodities for profit.

   Synonym: trader

2. The owner or operator of a retail business.
3. A trading vessel; a merchantman.
4. (informal, sometimes derogatory) Someone who is noted for a stated type of activity or behaviour.

5. (obsolete) A supercargo.

Derived terms

Related terms

• mercantile
• merchandise

Translations

Verb

merchant (third-person singular simple present merchants, present participle merchanting, simple past and past participle merchanted)

1. As a resident of a region, to buy goods from a non-resident and sell them to another non-resident.

   a merchanting service

Further reading

• “merchant”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “merchant”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “merchant” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.