commerce

Forms

commerce m (plural commerces)^[1] First written commerque (about 1370); the spelling commerce is found in 1468.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin commercium (“trade, a place of trade, the right to trade, dealings, intercourse”).^[2][4][5] The Latin word is formed from cum (“with”) and merx (“goods, merchandise”), the source of marchand.^[4][3][6] Littré notes that Old French had no such word and said marcheandise instead.^[7]

Cognate with Italian commercio and Spanish comercio.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as commerque about 1370 in Guillaume de Machaut's Prise d'Alexandrie, meaning the exchange and sale of goods.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Beside trade, the word took the abstract Latin sense of mutual dealings in 1540; this was common in the 17th century, especially for a person's manner in society (late 17th century: d'un commerce aisé).^[2][4] That use has died out except in a few phrases, and avoir commerce avec “to have sexual relations with” (1665) is now archaic as well.^[4] Molière's petits commerces (1668) were shady dealings, and Racine used the word in 1669 for a traffic in moral things.^[2]

By metonymy it came to mean the body of merchants (Académie, 1798) and, as un commerce, a business (1812), hence a shop.^[2][4] In African French it can mean a modern shop as distinct from a traditional stall, and in familiar Swiss French (written from 1864) a jumble of odds and ends.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – Commerque in Guillaume de Machaut, “sale of goods”.^[2]
• 1468 – The spelling commerce is found.^[3]
• 1540 – Used for social dealings, frequenting people.^[2][4]
• 1665 – Molière writes commerce des sens.^[2]
• 1668 – Petits commerces “shady dealings” in Molière's L'Avare.^[2]
• 1749 – The derivative commercial appears.^[4]
• 1798 – The Académie records it for the body of merchants.^[2][4]
• 1812 – Used for a business, a shop.^[2][4]
• 1864 – First written use of the Swiss sense “jumble”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. trade, commerce: the buying, selling and exchange of goods or services: commerce de détail, commerce en gros.^[8][7][1]
2. Le commerce: traders and shopkeepers as a body, the business world.^[2][4][7]
3. A business, a shop: Elle a ouvert un petit commerce de fleurs.^[2][4][1]
4. (Africa) A modern shop, as opposed to a traditional stall.^[4]
5. (literary, dated) Dealings with others, company; a person's manner in society: d'un commerce aisé.^[2][4]
6. (archaic) Avoir commerce avec: to have sexual intercourse with.^[4]
7. (Switzerland, familiar) A jumble of odd things.^[4]

Word family

• commercial
• commercer
• commerçant
• commercialiser

Related words

• marché
• marchand
• Latin commercium
• Latin merx

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 952a
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert