Added 8 October 2026
trade
/tɹeɪd/ noun
In Latin: commercium Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about trade at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
-
The commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services.
Venice was an important center of trade with the East
-
The skilled practice of a practical occupation.
he learned his trade as an apprentice
-
The business given to a commercial establishment by its customers.
even before noon there was a considerable patronage
verb
Origin
From Middle English trade (“path, course of conduct”), introduced into English by Hanseatic merchants, from Middle Low German trade (“track, course”), from Old Saxon trada (“spoor, track”), from Proto-West Germanic *tradu, from Proto-Germanic *tradō (“track, way”), and cognate with Old English tredan (“to tread”); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dreh₂- (“to tread, walk, step, run”). Cognate with Dutch trade, tra (“path, trail, course, trade”), German Low German Traad (“track, wagon trail”), Luxembourgish Tratt (“step, pace”), Icelandic tröð (“a lane between fences, enclosure, pen”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)