Meanings
plural negotiants
- archaichistoricalSomeone who conducts negotiations; a negotiator, an agent.First known use 17th c.
Ambassadors, negotiants, and generally all other ministers of mean fortune, in conversation with princes and superiors, must use great respect
1658, Walter Raleigh, The Cabinet-Council - obsoleteA trader or merchant; a businessman; a financier.First known use 18th–19th c.
1 more example
Such was the scarcity of bread, that a French gentleman told me, that, the day preceding the taking of the Bastille, he was invited to dine with a Negotiant, and, when he went, was informed that a servant had been out five hours in search of bread, and had at last been able to purchase only one loaf.
1790, Helen Maria Williams, Letters Written in France, Broadview Press, published 2002, page 75
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsomeone who negotiates (confers with others in order to reach a settlement)
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinnegōtiant-
- Frenchnégociant
- Englishnegotiant
From French négociant, or its source, Latin negōtiant-, probably via Italian negoziante (“merchant”).
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
negotiant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/negotiant
“negotiant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/negotiant. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “negotiant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/negotiant.
Source: negotiant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.