commerce

[kom-ers]

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noun

an interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale between different countries (foreign commerce) or between different parts of the same country (domestic commerce); trade; business.

social relations, especially the exchange of views, attitudes, etc.

sexual intercourse.

intellectual or spiritual interchange; communion.

(initial capital letter) Also called Commerce Department. Informal. the Department of Commerce.

Origin of commerce

1530–40; < Middle French < Latin commercium, equivalent to commerc(ārī) to trade together (com- com- + mercārī to buy, deal, derivative of merc-, stem of merx goods) + -ium -ium

Synonym study

1. See trade.

Commerce

[kom-ers]

noun

a town in SW California.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for commerce

business, exchange, marketing, industry, economics, trade, traffic, dealings, truck, merchandising, dealing, wholesaling

Examples from the Web for commerce

Contemporary Examples of commerce

This is the Mexico that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and most major U.S. corporations, are eager to call amigo.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting
Ruben Navarrette Jr.
January 6, 2015
“If Charleston harbor needs improvement, let the commerce of Charleston bear the burden,” he said.
Steve Scalise Shows There’s a Fine Line Between Confederate & Southern
Lloyd Green
January 2, 2015
Spar has a new book titled The Baby Business: How Money, Science and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception.
Want Blue Eyes With That Baby?: The Strange New World of Human Reproduction
Eleanor Clift
November 24, 2014
E.g., the U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent $136.3 million lobbying in 2012 and $74.7 million in 2013.
Up to a Point: In Defense of Lobbyists
P. J. O’Rourke
October 25, 2014
Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, all of Europe faltered as trade and commerce dried up.
How the Vikings Saved Europe and Got a Terrible Reputation
William O’Connor
September 17, 2014

Historical Examples of commerce

It remained throughout these many changes an important center of commerce.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
The former is engaged in commerce and the latter is the popular member for Leeds.
The Grand Old Man
Richard B. Cook
Commerce crowds our rivers and rails, our skies, harbors, and highways.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
Through the centuries of war men have only played at commerce.
The Call of the Twentieth Century
David Starr Jordan
Commerce follows the flag only when the flag flies on merchant ships.
The Call of the Twentieth Century
David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for commerce

commerce

noun

the activity embracing all forms of the purchase and sale of goods and services

social relations and exchange, esp of opinions, attitudes, etc

Word Origin for commerce

C16: from Latin commercium trade, from commercārī, from mercārī to trade, from merx merchandise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for commerce

1530s, from Middle French commerce (14c.), from Latin commercium "trade, trafficking," from com- "together" (see com-) + merx (genitive mercis) "merchandise" (see market (n.)).