mercantile
Americanadjective
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of or relating to merchants or trade; commercial.
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engaged in trade or commerce.
a mercantile nation.
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Economics. of or relating to the mercantile system.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of trade or traders; commercial
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of or relating to mercantilism
Related Words
See commercial.
Other Word Forms
- nonmercantile adjective
- quasi-mercantile adjective
- unmercantile adjective
Etymology
Origin of mercantile
1635–45; < French < Italian: pertaining to merchants, equivalent to mercant ( e ) merchant (< Latin mercant-, stem of mercāns buyer, noun use of present participle of mercārī to buy) + -ile -ile
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Far from being unique or “a heroic visionary,” Columbus was a typical merchant-seafarer of his time, combining the energies of a Genoese mercantile chancer with the drive of a man who wanted to get rich.
Just like Miami, the style emerged in the city at a time of economic flux and transformation, spurred by its modern, mercantile port-city energy.
From BBC
He also thought that these free trade deals would essentially be corrupted by the people who make the deal, which he called the mercantile system.
From Salon
The stage for his artistic blossoming was set in 1482, when he left the rich mercantile city of Florence for the cruder, more bumptious northern city of Milan.
From Los Angeles Times
The case was filed at Madrid’s mercantile courts.
From Seattle Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
