Etymologically
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commercial

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 16:19. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /kəˈmɜː.ʃəl/, US /kəˈmɝː.ʃəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English commerce + -ial.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

“Engaged in commerce, trading”: 1598 in Merriam-Webster,[3] the late 16th century in the SOED,[4] the 1680s in Etymonline,[2] and before 1687 in the OED.[5]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it as “relating to commerce or traffick”.[6] Commercial law and commercial treaty are from 1744.[5] Of products, “prepared for the market, of ordinary trade quality”, often implying impurity, it is from about 1865,[5] and of art or other work, “done chiefly for profit”, often disparagingly, from 1871.[2][5] “Paid for by advertising”, of radio or television, is from 1932,[2][5] and the noun, “an advertisement broadcast on radio or television”, from 1935.[2][7] Earlier the noun was short for commercial traveller, a travelling salesman, from 1855.[2][3] A commercial vehicle carrying goods is from 1907.[5]

Timeline

  • 1598 – engaged in commerce.[3]
  • 1744 – commercial law.[5]
  • 1855 – noun, a commercial traveller.[2]
  • 1871 – done for profit.[2][5]
  • 1932 – paid for by advertisements.[2][5]
  • 1935 – noun, a broadcast advertisement.[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to commerce or trade.
  2. Made or done chiefly to make a profit, sometimes at the expense of quality.
  3. Of broadcasting: paid for by advertisers.
  4. Of goods: produced in large quantities, often unrefined, for industry.

Noun

  1. An advertisement on television or radio.

Word family

  • commercially
  • commerciality
  • infomercial
  • anticommercial
  • commercialise
  • commercialism
  • countercommercial
  • noncommercial
  • commerce
  • commercialize
  • precommercial
  • merchant
  • mercantile

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster