mercantile English · revision 641
10 Oct 2026, 00:29 by bogdan “New entry from the dictionary sources (AHD, Barnhart, Etymonline, MW, OED, RHWU, Wiktionary, Hoad, MED, Word Origins)” current version
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+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /ˈmɜːkənˌtaɪl/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmɝ.kənˌtaɪl/, /-ˌtil/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|fr|mercantile]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) [[der|it|mercantile]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from ''mercante'' “merchant”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from Latin ''mercāns'' “merchant; trading”, present participle of ''mercārī'' “to trade”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''merx'' “goods, merchandise” (see [[market]]).^(AHD)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Of or belonging to merchants or trade; commercial (1642).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ From about 1645 the word described a person or nation engaged in trade, as in ''mercantile marine'', the shipping used in commerce.^(OED 1989)^(RHWU) Adam Smith used ''mercantile system'' in 1776 for the economic doctrine that wealth consists in gold and silver, so that exports should be encouraged and imports restricted;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) hence the modern sense “relating to [[mercantilism]]”.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) In the 18th century the word could also mean mercenary or fond of bargaining (1756).^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1642 – of merchants or trade.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)
+ * c. 1645 – engaged in trade.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1756 – mercenary.^(OED 1989)
+ * 1776 – ''mercantile system'' (Adam Smith).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # Of or relating to [[merchant|alt=merchants]] or trade; [[commercial]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Engaged in trade or commerce, as ''a mercantile nation''.^(RHWU)^(OED 1989)
+ # Of or relating to [[mercantilism]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[nonmercantile]]
+ * [[unmercantile]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[merchant]]
+ * [[mercantilism]]
+ * [[market]]
+ * [[mercenary]]
+ * [[commerce]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}