Meanings
nounmercantilism (countable and uncountable, plural mercantilisms)
plural mercantilisms
- countablehistoricaluncountableeconomicsThe theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade, in the manner that a merchant would operate a shop. Typically this model presupposes protectionism.
- countableuncountableeconomicsThe theory that holds that the prosperity of a nation depends upon its supply of capital, and that the global volume of trade is unchangeable.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan economic system (Europe in 18th century) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests
Similar
mercantile system
Broader
managed economy
nountransactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)
Similar
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchmercantile
- Englishmercantile
- Englishmercantilism
From mercantile + -ism.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Basque merkantilismo
- merkantilismothe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Bulgarian меркантилизъм
- меркантилизъм (merkantilizăm)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Catalan mercantilisme
- mercantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Chinese Mandarin 重商主義 /重商主义
- 重商主義 /重商主义 (zhòngshāng zhǔyì)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Czech merkantilismus
- merkantilismusthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Danish merkantilisme
- merkantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Dutch mercantilisme
- mercantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Esperanto merkantilismo
- merkantilismothe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Estonian merkantilism
- merkantilismthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Finnish merkantilismi
- merkantilismithe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
French mercantilisme
- mercantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
German Merkantilismus
- Merkantilismusthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Hebrew מרקנטיליזם
- מרקנטיליזםthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Hungarian merkantilizmus
- merkantilizmusthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Icelandic merkantílismi
- merkantílismithe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Indonesian merkantilisme
- merkantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Irish marsantachas
- marsantachasthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Italian mercantilismo
- mercantilismothe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Japanese 重商主義
- 重商主義 (jūshōjugi)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Korean 중상주의
- 중상주의 (jungsangjuui)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Latvian merkantilisms
- merkantilismsthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Lithuanian merkantilizmas
- merkantilizmasthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Malay merkantilisme
- merkantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Norwegian merkantilisme
- merkantilismethe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Persian سوداگرایی
- سوداگراییthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Polish merkantylizm, merkantylizm
- merkantylizmthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
- merkantylizmthe economic theory that holds that the prosperity of a nation depends upon its supply of capital
Portuguese mercantilismo
- mercantilismothe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Romanian mercantilism
- mercantilismthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Russian меркантилизм
- меркантилизм (merkantilizm)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Slovak merkantilizmus
- merkantilizmusthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Spanish mercantilismo
- mercantilismothe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Swedish merkantilism
- merkantilismthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Tamil வணிகவாதம்
- வணிகவாதம் (vaṇikavātam)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Thai ลัทธิพาณิชยนิยม
- ลัทธิพาณิชยนิยมthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Turkish merkantilizm
- merkantilizmthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Ukrainian меркантилізм
- меркантилізм (merkantylizm)the historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa trọng thương
- chủ nghĩa trọng thươngthe historical economic theory that a nation must always have a positive balance of trade
Cite this entry
APA
mercantilism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercantilism
MLA
“mercantilism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercantilism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mercantilism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercantilism.
Source: mercantilism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.