Meanings
- uncountableThe tendency of transnational commerce to operate outside any system of national laws, making use, instead, of a system of arbitration.
Insofar as it may be relevant, the lessons that could be drawn in this regard are the same as those which can be drawn from the medieval European systems, and demonstrate the untenable nature of mercatorism today.
1999, Ian F Turley, “Lex Mercatoria: Quo Vadis?”, in Journal of South African Law2 more examples
It seems to me that if they do look for uniformity they are sadly deluded; and they are likely to be the more deluded, the more that theories of transnationalism and mercatorism take hold, and the more common it becomes for parties to choose amiable composition as a basis for resolving "their disputes...
1989, J Mustill, “Contemporary problems in international commercial arbitration: A response”, in International Business Law, volume 161The doctrine of substantive mercatorism relates to the elaboration of transnational principles of commercial law, to the creation of a new law merchant or lex mercatoria as an independent "third" legal system between...
1996, Karl-Heinz Böckstiegel, Perspectives of Air Law, Space Law, and International Business Law for the Next Century, page 312
Origin
- Latinmercator“merchant, trader”
- Englishmercatorism
From Latin mercator (“merchant, trader”) + -ism.
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Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mercatorism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercatorism
“mercatorism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercatorism. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mercatorism,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mercatorism.
Source: mercatorism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.