commodity

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kəˈmɒdəti/ (UK); /kəˈmɑdəti/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English commoditee, borrowed from Middle French commodité and directly Latin commoditās (“fitness, convenience, advantage”),^[2][3][4] from commodus (“fit, convenient”) (see commode and commodious),^[2][3][5] from com- and modus (“measure, manner”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to take appropriate measures”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Benefit, profit, welfare: 1410 in Barnhart, the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[2][3] A convenient or useful product is from before 1420.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The commercial sense, an article produced for use or sale, is first found in 1436,^[2][3] and in economics it is a primary product or raw material traded in bulk.^[6][7] Convenience, expediency, advantage and opportunity were 16th-century senses, now obsolete.^[8]

Timeline

• 1410 – benefit, profit.^[2]
• before 1420 – a useful product.^[2]
• 1436 – an article of trade.^[2]
• 1488 – convenience (obsolete).^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A raw material or primary product that can be bought and sold, such as copper or coffee.
2. An article of trade; something useful or valuable.

Word family

• commodify
• discommodity
• commoditize
• commodity exchange

Related words

• commode
• commodious
• accommodate
• mode

Usage notes

In Ayrshire Scots a commodity meant a considerable portion, as of good sense.^[9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)