Etymology

market

mar·ket
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Today it means: A gathering of people for the purchase and sale of merchandise, often periodic at a set time. Full definition →

Middle English market ← Old English market ← Anglo-Norman markiet
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market · noun, verb1

  1. Latin · derived frommercātus“trade, market”
  2. Old French · derived frommarchié
  3. Anglo-Norman · derived frommarkiet
  4. Old English · inherited frommarket“market”
  5. Middle English · inherited frommarket
  6. English todaymarket

From Middle English market, from late Old English market (“market”) and Anglo-Norman markiet (Old French marchié); all ultimately from Latin mercātus (“trade, market”), from mercor (“to trade, deal in, buy”), itself derived from merx (“wares, merchandise”). Doublet of mart. Cognate with West Frisian merk (“market”), Dutch markt, German Markt, Danish and Norwegian marked (“market”), Faroese and Icelandic markaður (“market”), Swedish marknad (“market”). Displaced native Old English stapol.

Market · proper noun2

Topographic surname for someone who lived by a market.

Words from the same roots

Latinmercātus all →

merchandisemartmercat

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.