Meanings
- uncountableThe science of exchange, weight, measures, etc. in regard to trade and commerce, especially concerning foreign currency exchange.
The science of exchange, or, to use the old word, cambistry, has always been a subject of great importance.
1908, William Tate, Tate's Modern Cambist, page v2 more examples
On the other hand, we miss in the course such subjects as cambistry (science of exchange) , political economy, as well as some essential features of bookkeeping and accounting, the importance of which is beyond question in commercial practice.
1898, Report of the Commissioner of Education, page 216Cambistry involves a knowledge of various countries of the world; weights, measures, and fineness of metals used as a basis of coinage in various countries; methods of dealing in bullion; assaying operations; issuance of bills of exchange, international checks, and postal money orders; commercial parities; and computations in the arbitration of exchange.
1991, Glenn Gaywaine Munn, Charles J. Woelfel, The St. James Encyclopedia of Banking & Finance, page 157
Origin
By surface analysis, cambist + -ry.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
cambistry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cambistry
“cambistry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cambistry. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cambistry,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cambistry.
Source: cambistry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.