merchant
mer·chant/ˈmɝt͡ʃənt/noun, verb
merchant is spelled M-E-R-C-H-A-N-T: 8 letters and 2 syllables (mer·chant). It appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, merchant means “A person who traffics in commodities for profit” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of merchant is merchants.
How many letters and syllables are in merchant?
| Letters | 8: M-E-R-C-H-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mer·chant |
| In writing | 12 times per million words; the 6,230th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is merchant?
Merchant appears 12 times per million words in written English, the 6,230th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce merchant?
- UK /ˈmɜːtʃənt/
- US /ˈmɝt͡ʃənt/
Merchant has 2 syllables, split mer·chant in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-merchant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of merchant
- merchants plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- merchanting participle, present
- merchanted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does merchant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person who traffics in commodities for profit.
- 2
The owner or operator of a retail business.
- 3
A trading vessel; a merchantman.
- 4
derogatoryinformalSomeone who is noted for a stated type of activity or behaviour.
He's some kind of speed merchant – he drives way too fast.
- 5
obsoleteA supercargo.
verb
- 1
As a resident of a region, to buy goods from a non-resident and sell them to another non-resident.
a merchanting service
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate merchant?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of merchant: Merch., mcht..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Merchant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person who traffics in commodities:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | marchand, marchande |
| German | Kaufmann, Kauffrau, Händler |
| Portuguese | comerciante, mercador |
| Spanish | comerciante, mercader, mercadante, mercante, mercador (disused), mercadero (disused) |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does merchant come from?
From Middle English marchaunt, from Anglo-Norman marchaunt, from mercans, from the verb mercor (“to trade, deal, sell”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).