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merchandise

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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

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