chapman

C3H4A1P3M3A1N1
/ˈt͡ʃæpmən/

noun

A dealer or merchant, especially an itinerant one.

Similar
cheapjackpeddler
OriginMiddle English chapman ← Old English ċēapmann ← Proto-West Germanic *kaupamann →
CommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

chapman1

nounchapman (plural chapmen)

plural chapmen

  1. obsoleteA dealer or merchant, especially an itinerant one.

    Done. They are gone: the sum is here in bank, my Face. I would we knew another chapman now would buy 'em outright.

    c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist, act 3
    1 more example

    When chapmen billies leave the street, / And drouthy neibors, neibors meet, / As market days are wearing late, / An' folk begin to tak the gate

    1790, Robert Burns, Tam o' Shanter

    Synonyms: cheapjack, peddler

  2. obsoleteA purchaser.

Chapman2

proper nounChapman (countable and uncountable, plural Chapmans)

plural Chapmans

  1. countableuncountableAn English surname originating as an occupation for a merchant.
  2. A placename:
    1. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Butler County, Alabama.
    2. countableuncountableA neighbourhood of Pasadena, California.
    3. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Illinois.
    4. countableuncountableA township in Clay County, Kansas.
    5. countableuncountableA city in Dickinson County, Kansas.
    6. countableuncountableA town in Aroostook County, Maine.
    7. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Phillips County, Montana.
    8. countableuncountableA township and village therein, in Merrick County, Nebraska.
    9. countableuncountableA township in Saunders County, Nebraska.
    10. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Jackson County, Ohio.
    11. countableuncountableA township in Clinton County, Pennsylvania.
    12. countableuncountableA borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.
    13. countableuncountableA township in Snyder County, Pennsylvania.
    14. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Webster County, West Virginia.
    15. countableuncountableA suburb of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
nounChapman (uncountable)
  1. uncountablegolfA kind of foursomes; a combination of alternate shot and fourball.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA dealer or merchant, especially an itinerant one.

Similar
cheapjackpeddler
Also see
cheapjackcopemanmerchantpeddler

Origin

chapman · noun

  1. Proto-West Germanic*kaupamann
  2. Old Englishċēapmann“dealer, merchant”
  3. Middle Englishchapman
  4. Englishchapman

From Middle English chapman, chepman, from Old English ċēapmann (“dealer, merchant”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaupamann, equivalent to cheap (noun) + man. Cognate with synonymous West Frisian keapman, Dutch koopman, German Low German Koopmann, German Kaufmann, Swedish köpman.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Chapman · proper noun, noun

  1. Middle Englishchapman
  2. EnglishChapman

* From Middle English chapman, chepman, meaning merchant or trader; equivalent to cheap (noun) + man. Doublet of Kaufman and Koopman. * (golf game): Named after American amateur golfer Dick Chapman, who collaborated with the USGA in devising the system.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

chapman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chapman

MLA

“chapman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chapman. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chapman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chapman.

Source: chapman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.