mercantile
/ˈmɝ.kənˌtaɪl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.21 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or relating to mercantilism.
Example Sentences
- "No sign was over his door; in fact—as with old banks and mercantile houses—advertising in any shape was scorned, and it would have been felt as beneath his dignity to paint, for the benefit of strangers, the name of an establishment the trade of which came solely by connection based on personal respect."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Italic *merks Latin merx Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -or Latin mercor Latin mercantem Italian mercante Latin -īlemder. Italian -ile Italian mercantilebor. French mercantilebor. English mercantile Borrowed from French mercantile, from Italian mercantile, from mercante (“merchant”), from Latin mercāns (“trading”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: mercantile, mercāns
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɝ.kənˌtaɪl/
- British English: /ˈmɜːkənˌtaɪl/