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mercantilism
[ mur-kuhn-ti-liz-uhm, -tee-, -tahy- ]
/ ˈmɜr kən tɪˌlɪz əm, -ti-, -taɪ- /
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noun
mercantile practices or spirit; commercialism.
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Origin of mercantilism
OTHER WORDS FROM mercantilism
mer·can·til·ist, noun, adjectivemer·can·til·is·tic, adjectiveWords nearby mercantilism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use mercantilism in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for mercantilism
mercantilism
/ (ˈmɜːkəntɪˌlɪzəm) /
noun
Also called: mercantile system economics a theory prevalent in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries asserting that the wealth of a nation depends on its possession of precious metals and therefore that the government of a nation must maximize the foreign trade surplus, and foster national commercial interests, a merchant marine, the establishment of colonies, etc
a rare word for commercialism (def. 1)
Derived forms of mercantilism
mercantilist, noun, adjectiveCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for mercantilism
mercantilism
[ (mur-kuhn-tee-liz-uhm, mur-kuhn-ti-liz-uhm, mur-kuhn-teye-liz-uhm) ]
An economic doctrine that flourished in Europe from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. Mercantilists held that a nation's wealth consisted primarily in the amount of gold and silver in its treasury. Accordingly, mercantilist governments imposed extensive restrictions on their economies to ensure a surplus of exports over imports. In the eighteenth century, mercantilism was challenged by the doctrine of laissez-faire. (See also Adam Smith.)
notes for mercantilism
The European quest for colonial holdings in Asia, Africa, and North and South America was partially a product of mercantile economics.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.