Where does “mercenário” come from?

mercenário (Portuguese) comes from Latin mercēnārius, from Latin mercēs, from Latin merx, from Proto-Italic *merks.

mercenário (Portuguese): mercenary motivated by private gain

Definitions

  1. mercenary motivated by private gain

Ancestry of “mercenário”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinmercēnāriushired for pay
2Latinmercēspay, wages, reward
3Latinmerxmerchandise, commodity; goods, wares
4Proto-Italic*merks—
Every word from Proto-Italic *merks →Every word from Latin merx →Every word from Latin mercēs →