merchandise

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈmɜː.tʃən.daɪs/, US /ˈmɝː.tʃən.daɪs/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English marchaundise, borrowed from Anglo-Norman marchaundise and Old French marcheandise (“goods, trade, business”),^[2][3][4] from marcheant (“merchant”) (see merchant) and a suffix,^[2][3][5] ultimately from Latin merx (“goods, merchandise”).^[5] Barnhart notes that no one seems to have explained the d of the French form, where t would be expected.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The business of buying and selling: before 1250 in Barnhart, 1297 in the OED, the mid-13th century in Etymonline.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Goods for sale, wares, are from about 1290 in the OED, the mid-14th century in Etymonline.^[6][3] The phrase to make merchandise, to strike a bargain, is also from about 1290.^[6] The plural had become obsolete by the late 19th century.^[3] The verb, to trade, is from 1382, and to buy and sell goods from 1538.^[6] Merchandising now also means promoting sales by advertising and display.^[7]

Timeline

• before 1250 – trading, wares.^[2]
• c. 1290 – goods for sale.^[6]
• 1382 – to merchandise, trade.^[6]
• 1538 – to buy and sell.^[6]
• 1887 – merchandise exports.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Goods bought and sold; commodities or wares.

Verb

1. To buy and sell goods; to trade.
2. To promote the sale of goods, as by advertising or display.

Word family

• merchandisable
• merchandiser
• merch
• distress merchandise

Related words

• mercantile
• merchant
• merchantable
• commerce
• market
• mercer

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 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. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin