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merchandise

/ˈmɜː.t͡ʃənˌdaɪs/ noun

In Latin: merx Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about merchandise at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. Commodities offered for sale.
    good business depends on having good merchandise

verb

  1. Engage in the trade of.
    he is merchandising telephone sets

Origin

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.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)