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

Under international maritime law, naval forces can stop a merchant vessel at sea if they have reasonable suspicion that the vessel is without a nationality.

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He has been accused of being a merchant of negativity throughout his managerial career, a coach whose football suffocates rather than inspires.

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While the character in the movie had memorable one-liners about “the sweet relief of death” and how “hope is an illusion,” in the games these blue Lumas are more helpful merchants of life.

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The US and UK have also carried out air strikes in Houthi-controlled Yemen in response to the Houthis' attacks on dozens of merchant vessels.

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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.

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Related Words

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