mercantile
adjective
mer·can·tile ˈmər-kən-ˌtēl 
-ˌtī(-ə)l
1
: of or relating to merchants or trading
mercantile families
mercantile businesses
2
: of, relating to, or having the characteristics of mercantilism
mercantile system
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web That Shop, at 138 Main St. in Somers, back in January, and have created a space that has a little of everything, akin to a mercantile or general store. 
Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 13 July 2022 Clarence Clifton Brown hauled his candy-making equipment here from Ohio, and in 1906 opened a chocolate shop at the mercantile crossroads of 7th and Hill streets downtown. Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 See More
Steve Smith, Hartford Courant, 13 July 2022 Clarence Clifton Brown hauled his candy-making equipment here from Ohio, and in 1906 opened a chocolate shop at the mercantile crossroads of 7th and Hill streets downtown. Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 The mercantile store and rail depot shuttered with the onset of the Great Depression. Timothy Fanning, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
French, from Italian, from mercante merchant, from Latin mercant-, mercans, from present participle of mercari to trade — more at market
First Known Use
1638, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
mercantile
adjective
mer·can·tile ˈmər-kən-ˌtēl
-ˌtīl
: of or relating to merchants or trade
a rich mercantile family
- interdictors
- interdictory
- interdicts
- interdictum
- interdiffuse
- interdiffused
- interdiffuses
- interdiffusing
- interdiffusion
- interdiffusions
- interdigitate
- interdigitated
- interdigitates
- interdigitating
- interdigitation
- interdigitations
- interdine
- interdined
- interdines
- interdining
- interdisciplinarian
- interdisciplinarity
- interdisciplinary
- interdistrict
- interdivisional