Merchant

8 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Merchant \Mer"chant\, n. [OE. marchant, OF. marcheant, F.
     marchand, fr. LL. mercatans, -antis, p. pr. of mercatare to
     negotiate, L. mercari to traffic, fr. merx, mercis, wares.
     See {Market}, {Merit}, and cf. {Commerce}.]
     1. One who traffics on a large scale, especially with foreign
        countries; a trafficker; a trader.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad.
                                                    --Shak.
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     2. A trading vessel; a merchantman. [Obs.] --Shak.
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     3. One who keeps a store or shop for the sale of goods; a
        shopkeeper. [U. S. & Scot.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Merchant \Mer"chant\, a.
     Of, pertaining to, or employed in, trade or merchandise; as,
     the merchant service.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Merchant bar}, {Merchant iron} or {Merchant steel}, certain
        common sizes of wrought iron and steel bars.
  
     {Merchant service or Merchant marine}, the mercantile marine
        of a country. --Am. Cyc.
  
     {Merchant ship}, a ship employed in commerce.
  
     {Merchant tailor}, a tailor who keeps and sells materials for
        the garments which he makes.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Merchant \Mer"chant\, v. i.
     To be a merchant; to trade. [Obs.]
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  merchant
       n : a businessperson engaged in retail trade [syn: {merchandiser}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  60 Moby Thesaurus words for "merchant":
     agent, baron, broker, business, businessman, caterer, chandler,
     commercial, commissariat, commissary, dealer, distributor, donor,
     drummer, forwarder, furnisher, hawker, huckster, importer,
     industrial, industrialist, jobber, magnate, manciple, marketer,
     mercantile, merchandiser, merchant prince, middleman, mogul,
     monger, patron, provider, provisioner, purveyor, quartermaster,
     regrater, retail, retail dealer, retail merchant, retailer, seller,
     shopkeeper, steward, stock clerk, storekeeper, supplier, sutler,
     trade, trader, tradesman, tradeswoman, trading, trafficker, tycoon,
     vendor, victualer, vivandier, wholesale, wholesaler
  
  

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Merchant
     The Hebrew word so rendered is from a root meaning "to travel
     about," "to migrate," and hence "a traveller." In the East, in
     ancient times, merchants travelled about with their merchandise
     from place to place (Gen. 37:25; Job 6:18), and carried on their
     trade mainly by bartering (Gen. 37:28; 39:1). After the Hebrews
     became settled in Palestine they began to engage in commercial
     pursuits, which gradually expanded (49:13; Deut. 33:18; Judg.
     5:17), till in the time of Solomon they are found in the chief
     marts of the world (1 Kings 9:26; 10:11, 26, 28; 22:48; 2 Chr.
     1:16; 9:10, 21). After Solomon's time their trade with foreign
     nations began to decline. After the Exile it again expanded into
     wider foreign relations, because now the Jews were scattered in
     many lands.
     

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  MERCHANT. One whose business it is to buy and sell merchandise; this applies 
  to all persons who habitually trade in merchandise. 1 Watts & S. 469; 2 
  Salk. 445. 
       2. In another sense, it signifies a person who owns ships, and trades, 
  by means of them, with foreign nations, or with the different States of the 
  United States; these are known by the name of shipping merchants. Com. Dig. 
  Merchant, A; Dyer, R. 279 b; Bac. Ab. h.t. 
       3. According to an old authority, there are four species of merchants, 
  namely, merchant adventurers, merchant dormant, merchant travellers, and 
  merchant residents. 2 Brownl. 99. Vide, generally, 9 Salk. R. 445; Bac. Ab. 
  h.t.; Com. Dig. h.t.; 1 Bl. Com. 75, 260; 1 Pard. Dr. Com. n. 78 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  MERCHANT, n.  One engaged in a commercial pursuit.  A commercial
  pursuit is one in which the thing pursued is a dollar.