Etymologically
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marché

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /maʁ.ʃe/[1]

Forms

marché m (plural marchés)[1] Old French marched (about 980), marchiet, marchié (1155), marcié[2][3][4]; marché from about 1213.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French marchié, inherited from Latin mercātus (“trade; market”),[2][3][5][6][1][7] from mercor (“to trade”), from merx (“goods”),[4][8] a word perhaps connected with the god Mercury.[8] It is a doublet of mercato.[1]

Cognate with Italian mercato, Occitan mercat and Spanish mercado; German Markt was borrowed from Latin.[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) has marched for a gathering of buyers and sellers in a public place;[2][3] the Chanson de Roland uses it for a deal or bargain (1080).[4][8]

Semantic evolution

From the gathering the word passed to the place (Wace, 1155), to what one buys there (about 1160[2][3]; faire son marché, 1868) and to a town with the right to hold a market (about 1150).[2][3] The marché aux puces “flea market” is from 1904.[2]

The sense “deal, contract” is as old as the Chanson de Roland, with phrases such as conclure un marché and marché de dupes.[8][4] In economics le marché is the state of supply and demand (1853, Proudhon), and by Voltaire's time a town or country that is a centre of trade.[2]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Marched (Passion).[2][6]
  • 1080 – “A deal” (Roland).[4][8]
  • c. 1150 – A market town.[2]
  • 1155 – The market place (Wace).[2]
  • 1853 – Supply and demand (Proudhon).[2]
  • 1904 – Marché aux puces.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A market, a place where goods are sold: aller au marché.[8][1]
  2. A deal or contract: conclure un marché.[8][1]
  3. (economics) A market: économie de marché, marché du travail.[8][2]
  4. Bon marché: cheap.[8]
  5. Par-dessus le marché: into the bargain.[8]

Word family

  • hypermarché
  • supermarché
  • marchand
  • marchandage
  • marchander
  • mercantile
  • mercantilisme
  • mercantiliste
  • Latin mercātus
  • English market

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/2, 1b
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert