Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mercantilist” come from?

Mercantilist comes from English mercantile with the suffix -ista from Latin, deriving from Ancient Greek -ιστής and -ίζω, ultimately from Latin merx meaning goods or wares via mercor and Proto-Italic merk-.

mercantilist (English): Of, pertaining to, or believing in mercantilism;...

Definitions

  1. Of, pertaining to, or believing in mercantilism;...

Ancestry of “mercantilist”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmercantileConcerned with the exchange of goods for profit;...
2Frenchmercantilemercantile, commercial
3Italianmercantilemerchant , mercantile, commercial; merchant ship;...
4Italianmercantemerchant, dealer, trader, monger
5Latinmercanstrading
6LatinmercorI trade, deal, sell
7Latinmerxmerchandise, commodity; goods, wares
8Proto-Italic*merks—
Every word from Proto-Italic *merks →