adjective / noun
mercantile
MUR-kun-teel/ˈmɜːrkəntiːl/
Connected with the buying and selling of goods.
The warehouse serves as a hub for shipping and mercantile activity.
Etymology
The Latin word for “merchant” also meant “trading,” so mercantile describes what belongs to merchants and their activity. Its commercial meaning centers on buying and selling goods.
In context
at that period you really couldn't use it as a mercantile port in the same way that you could use the Delaware
More examples
- The port's growth reflects its long mercantile history.
- Her family runs a mercantile business that imports fabrics.
- We buy flour and coffee at the town's mercantile.
Forms
mercantile · mercantiles
Similar words
- commercial
- Commercial covers business generally, not just trade in goods.
- retail
- Retail concerns sales directly to consumers, not wholesale trade.
- store
- Store is the everyday term for a place selling goods.