merchandise
/ˈmɝ.t͡ʃənˌdaɪs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.93 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Commercial goods connected (branded) with an entity such as a team, band, company, charity, work of fiction, festival, or meme. (Commonly shortened to merch.)
Uncountable
noun
A commodity offered for sale; an article of commerce; a kind of merchandise.
Archaic; Countable
Example Sentences
- "Good business depends on having good merchandise."
- "So, if a Sonne that is by his Father ſent about Merchandize, doe ſinfully miſcarry vpon the Sea; the imputation of his vvickedneſſe, by your rule, ſhould be impoſed vpon his Father that ſent him: […]"
- "The custom of giving away merchandise for advertising purposes is greatly on the increase in this country. More goods are now distributed in one year as advertising novelties and as premiums than in a decade 10 or 15 years ago."
- "It has been stated that Fred Beers is giving free merchandise to this store and I believe you will find that one of your inspectors obtained a bottle of milk free when he purchased some groceries on Thursday Nov. 23rd [1933]."
- "Would we then see in what sence heavenly things may be called a merchandise, and in what sence not; this is easy to him that will understand."
- "What security was there that she might not be a very unfit person, one who had made a merchandise of her charms, the child itself being the offspring of some accidental connexion?"
Etymology
Etymology tree Anglo-Norman marchaundisebor. Latin mercātus Vulgar Latin *mercātāntem Vulgar Latin *mercātāntem Old French marcheant Old French -ise Old French marcheandisebor. Middle English marchaundise English merchandise From Middle English marchaundise (“commerce, trading; buying; business transaction, deal; merchandise, goods, wares; possessions”), from Anglo-Norman marchaundise and Old French marcheandise (modern French marchandise), from Old French marcheant (“seller, vendor”) (ultimately from Latin mercātus (“buying and selling, trade, traffic; market; marketplace”), possibly originally Etruscan) + -ise (suffix forming feminine nouns, often denoting a quality or state). The English word is analysable as merchant + -ise.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɝ.t͡ʃənˌdaɪs/
- British English: /ˈmɜː.t͡ʃənˌdaɪs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
merchandises (plural)
merchandize (alternative, obsolete)
merchaundise (alternative, obsolete)
merchaundize (alternative, obsolete)
mdse (alternative, abbreviation)
merchandises (present, singular)
merchandising (participle, present)
merchandised (participle, past)
merchandised (past)
merchandize (alternative, US)