mercato Italian · revision 38989

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1211, Florentine account books|origins=la merx}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /merˈka.to/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mercato''' ''m'' (plural mercati)^(Wiktionary)

+ An old feminine plural ''mercata'' is recorded.^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|mercātus|t=trade; market, fair]], an action noun from [[m|la|mercor|t=to trade, to buy]], itself from [[m|la|merx|t=goods, merchandise]].^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The same word is [[fr|marché]], [[oc|mercat]], [[ca|mercat]], [[es|mercado]] and [[pt|mercado]].^(Nocentini 2010)^(REW 1935)^(Körting 1907) It passed early into the Germanic languages: [[goh|markāt]], whence [[de|Markt]] and [[en|market]].^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ De Vaan traces the Latin noun to [[itc-pro|*merk-|t=trade, exchange]], also found in Faliscan and Oscan; the god Mercury was probably the god of exchange, and the whole stem may have been borrowed from Etruscan.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record is in Florentine account books of 1211, for a place where sellers gather with their goods to trade.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010) GRADIT dates the word to before 1294.^(GRADIT 2003)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Giovanni Villani (before 1348) uses ''mercato'' for a periodic gathering of traders, and Catherine of Siena (before 1380) already uses it scornfully for illicit traffic.^(DELI 1999) In Dante's ''Paradiso'' the Caponsacchi family had already come down into the ''mercato'' of Florence.^(Tommaseo–Bellini 1861) The economic senses came later: the movement of dealings (before 1535, Berni), ''libero mercato'' “free market” (1771, Pietro Verri), and the whole of a country's trade (1836).^(DELI 1999) Since 1678 a ''mercato'' is also a noisy, chaotic place.^(DELI 1999)

+

+ The Romance phrase ''a buon mercato'' “cheaply” is shared with French ''bon marché''.^(REW 1935)^(GRADIT 2003) ''Mercato nero'', recorded in 1947, came out of the Second World War and was spread from Germany, where ''Schwarzmarkt'' named the illicit trade done at night.^(Nocentini 2010) French has borrowed ''mercato'' for the transfer market in football.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1211 – ''Mercato'' appears in Florentine account books.^(DELI 1999)^(Nocentini 2010)

+ * Before 1348 – Giovanni Villani uses it for a periodic market.^(DELI 1999)

+ * Before 1380 – Catherine of Siena uses it for illicit traffic.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1678 – The sense “place of great confusion” is recorded.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1771 – Pietro Verri writes ''libero mercato''.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1836 – The sense “a country's whole trade” appears in the Milanese press.^(DELI 1999)

+ * 1947 – ''Mercato nero'' is recorded.^(Nocentini 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|market]], a place, often in the open air, where goods are bought and sold: ''Il sabato compro la frutta al mercato.''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+ # A periodic gathering of sellers and buyers for particular goods: ''il mercato del bestiame''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Zingarelli 2010)

+ # ''(economics)'' The meeting of supply and demand for a good, and the dealings that set its price; the market as a system: ''economia di mercato'', market economy.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+ # The trade in a given product or area: ''il mercato dell'auto'', ''il mercato interno''.^(GRADIT 2003)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A noisy, chaotic place: ''Quest'aula è diventata un mercato!''^(GRADIT 2003)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)

+ # ''(derogatory)'' Shameful [[m|en|traffic]] in what should not be sold.^(Sabatini–Coletti 2026)^(Gabrielli 2020)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mercatino]]

+ * [[mercatale]]

+ * [[mercatura]]

+ * [[mercatistica]]

+ * [[supermercato]]

+ * [[ipermercato]]

+ * [[soprammercato]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[merce]]

+ * [[mercante]]

+ * [[mercanzia]]

+ * [[commercio]]

+ * [[la|mercātus]]

+ * [[fr|marché]]

+ * [[en|market]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Common phrases: ''a buon mercato'' “cheap, cheaply”, also figuratively ''cavarsela a buon mercato'' “to get off lightly”;^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''mercato nero'' “black market”;^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011) ''mercato delle pulci'' “flea market”, a translation of [[fr|marché aux puces]].^(Zingarelli 2010)^(Devoto–Oli 2026)^(Treccani 2011)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}