Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Merchant

Mer′chant

,
Noun.
[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.
Shakespeare
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.]

Mer′chant

,
Adj.
Of, pertaining to, or employed in, trade or merchandise;
as, the
merchant
service
.
Merchant bar
,
Merchant iron
or
Merchant steel
,
certain common sizes of wrought iron and steel bars.
Merchant service or Merchant marine
,
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.

Mer′chant

,
Verb.
I.
To be a merchant; to trade.
[Obs.]

Webster 1828 Edition


Merchant

MER'CHANT

,
Noun.
[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

,
Verb.
I.
To trade. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024


Merchant

Merchant

See also: merchant

English

Proper noun

Merchant

  1. A surname.

merchant

merchant

See also: Merchant

English

Alternative forms

Noun

merchant (plural merchants)

  1. A person who traffics in commodities for profit.
  2. The owner or operator of a retail business.
  3. A trading vessel; a merchantman.
    • 1611, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, II. i. 5:
      Every day, some sailor's wife, / The masters of some merchant, and the merchant, / Have just our theme of woe.

Derived terms

Related terms

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

External links

  • merchant in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • merchant in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
  • merchant” in Roget's Thesaurus, T. Y. Crowell Co., 1911.