mercantile

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈmɝ.kənˌtaɪl/ UK /ˈmɜːkənˌtaɪl/ See IPA manual

Freq #41247

Meanings

1

adj
Connected with trade and the buying and selling of goods for profit.

The port grew rich from centuries of mercantile activity.
2

adj
Focused on making money.

Critics accused the gallery of taking a purely mercantile view of art.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 adj · focused on making money. mercenary moneymaking

Word family

Derived forms mercantilelymercantilistmercantilisticnonmercantileunmercantile

Related forms merchant

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

mercantile establishment
a business premises where goods are sold

Adjective + noun

Etymology

Borrowed from French mercantile, from Italian mercantile, from mercante (“merchant”), from Latin mercāns (“trading”).

mercantile French mercāns Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# mercantile

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɝ.kənˌtaɪl/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɜːkənˌtaɪl/
**Frequency rank:** 41247

## Meanings
1. Connected with trade and the buying and selling of goods for profit.
2. Focused on making money.

## Examples
- The port grew rich from centuries of mercantile activity.
- Critics accused the gallery of taking a purely mercantile view of art.

## Derived Forms
- mercantilely
- mercantilist
- mercantilistic
- nonmercantile
- unmercantile

## Related Forms
- merchant

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: mercantile
- Root: mercāns

## Etymology
Borrowed from French mercantile, from Italian mercantile, from mercante (“merchant”), from Latin mercāns (“trading”).

## AI Etymology
Mercantile is borrowed from French mercantile, from Italian mercantile, from mercante (“merchant”), from Latin mercāns (“trading”). Important recorded forms include mercantile (French) and mercāns (Latin). Current senses include connected with trade and the buying and selling of goods for profit and focused on making money. The wider family includes derived forms such as mercantilely, mercantilist, mercantilistic, nonmercantile, and unmercantile and related words such as merchant.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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