Where does “mercerize” come from?

mercerize (English) comes from English Mercer, from Anglo-Norman marcer, from Old French mercer, from Old French merz, from Latin merx, from Proto-Italic *merks.

mercerize (English): To treat cotton fabric with sodium hydroxide to...

Definitions

  1. To treat cotton fabric with sodium hydroxide to...

Ancestry of “mercerize”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishMercerA merchant dealing in fabrics and textiles, especially silks and other fine cloths
2Anglo-Normanmarcer—
3Old Frenchmercermerchant, textile merchant
4Old Frenchmerz—
5Latinmerxmerchandise, commodity; goods, wares
6Proto-Italic*merks—

Words derived from “mercerize”

Every word from Proto-Italic *merks →Every word from Latin merx →Every word from Old French merz →