Etymologically
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supermarket

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:32. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌsuːpəˈmɑːkɪt/[1]
  • US: /ˌsupɚˈmɑɹkət/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English super- + market in American English,[2][3][4][5] and the OED compares superstore.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A large self-service store, usually one of a chain, selling food, groceries and household goods: 1931, in the Los Angeles Times.[2] Etymonline, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster date the word to 1933, and Etymonline notes that its 1933 source says such stores had begun to open around 1931.[3][4][5] Dictionary.com gives 1920–25.[6]

Semantic evolution

A figurative use, for something that offers a large choice like a supermarket, is recorded from 1953.[2] The still larger hypermarket followed in 1967.[3][2] British English calls the wheeled basket a supermarket trolley, American English a supermarket cart.[7]

Timeline

  • 1931 – a large self-service food store.[2]
  • 1933 – first date in Etymonline, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster.[3][4][5]
  • 1953 – figurative, a place with a wide choice.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A large self-service shop selling food and household goods, often one of a chain.
  2. Something likened to such a shop, especially in offering a wide range of choices: a supermarket of investment funds.

Word family

  • superette
  • supermarketer

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press