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. 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)

Other Word Forms

• merchantlike adjective
• outmerchant noun
• merchant-like adjective

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

A significant part of the islands' population descended from enslaved West and Central Africans, who were forcibly transported to the Caribbean by European merchants in the 17th and 18th Centuries.

From BBC

A decentralized, low-cost, flexible cottage industry will likely be transformed into a centralized, high-cost, inflexible cash cow for the merchants of death.

From Salon

Like the bird of prey seeking carrion, a foreign correspondent is characterized as a misery merchant or conflict cowboy, making a living from death and disaster.

From Los Angeles Times

The company makes money through platforms such as Uber Eats for completing orders, direct payments from merchants for deliveries, and leasing parts of the fleet to restaurants and advertising services.

From Los Angeles Times

Long-running tensions between Druze and Bedouin tribes erupted into deadly sectarian clashes a week ago, after the abduction of a Druze merchant on the road to the capital Damascus.

From BBC

Related Words

• broker 
• dealer 
• exporter www.thesaurus.com
• operator 
• retailer www.thesaurus.com
• seller 
• shipper 
• shopkeeper 
• trader 
• trafficker www.thesaurus.com
• vendor 
• wholesaler