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merchants

 - 4 dictionary results

mer⋅chant

  [mur-chuhnt]
Use merchants in a Sentence
–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
4. pertaining to or used for trade or commerce: a merchant ship.
5. pertaining to the merchant marine.
6. Steelmaking. (of bars and ingots) of standard shape or size.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME marchant < OF marcheant < VL *mercātant- (s. of *mercātāns), prp. of *mercātāre, freq. of L mercārī to trade, deriv. of merx goods

Related forms:
mer⋅chant⋅like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To merchants
mer·chant   (mûr'chənt)   
n.  

  1. One whose occupation is the wholesale purchase and retail sale of goods for profit.

  2. One who runs a retail business; a shopkeeper.

adj.  

  1. Of or relating to merchants, merchandise, or commercial trade: a merchant guild.

  2. Of or relating to the merchant marine: merchant ships.


[Middle English merchaunt, from Old French marcheant, from Vulgar Latin *mercātāns, present participle of *mercātāre, frequentative of Latin mercārī, to trade, from merx, merc-, merchandise.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

merchant 
c.1200, from Anglo-Fr. marchaunt (O.Fr. marcheant, Fr. marchand), from V.L. *mercatantem (nom. *mercatans) "a buyer," prp. of *mercatare, freq. of L. mercari "to trade" (see market).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: mer·chant
Pronunciation: 'm&r-ch&nt
Function: noun
: a person who trades in goods esp. of a certain kind and possesses expertise in the area of the goods and the practices of trading in them or who employs others with such expertise merchant with respect to goods of that kind —Uniform Commercial Code>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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