market

pronunciation

How to pronounce market in British English: UK [ˈmɑːkɪt] word uk audio image

How to pronounce market in American English: US [ˈmɑːrkɪt] word us audio image

Noun:

the world of commercial activity where goods and services are bought and sold
the securities markets in the aggregate
the customers for a particular product or service
a marketplace where groceries are sold
Verb:

engage in the commercial promotion, sale, or distribution of
buy household supplies
deal in a market
make commercial

Word Origin

market: market: [12] The Latin word for ‘goods to be sold’ was merx (source of English commerce, merchant, and mercury). From it was derived the verb mercārī ‘buy’, and its past participle produced the noun mercātus ‘trade, market’. In Vulgar Latin this became *marcātus, which was adopted into early Middle English as market. The now seldom used synonym mart [15] comes from early modern Dutch mart, a variant of markt ‘market’.=> commerce, mart, merchant, mercury

market (n.): early 12c., "a meeting at a fixed time for buying and selling livestock and provisions," from Old North French market "marketplace, trade, commerce" (Old French marchiet, Modern French marché), from Latin mercatus "trading, buying and selling, trade, market" (source of Italian mercato, Spanish mercado, Dutch markt, German Markt), from past participle of mercari "to trade, deal in, buy," from merx (genitive mercis) "wares, merchandise," from Italic root *merk-, possibly from Etruscan, referring to various aspects of economics. Meaning "public building or space where markets are held" first attested mid-13c. Sense of "sales, as controlled by supply and demand" is from 1680s. Market value (1690s) first attested in writings of John Locke. Market economy is from 1948; market research is from 1921.