Etymograph

English

market

Market comes from Middle English market ‘a market’, from Latin mercor ‘to trade, deal in, buy’, and ultimately from Proto-Italic *merks.

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*merks1reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmerx2‘wares’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmercor2‘to trade’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmercātus2‘trade’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150market2
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500market2‘a market’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602market2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin merx, which cites Matasović
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English market
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “What is a man If his chief good and…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*merksWiktionary, Latin merx, which cites Matasovićreconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmerxWiktionary, English market‘wares’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmercorWiktionary, English market‘to trade’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmercātusWiktionary, English market‘trade’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150marketWiktionary, English market
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500marketWiktionary, English market‘a market’
  7. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602marketWiktionary, English market. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “What is a man If his chief good and…”

Linked words

through Latin merx ‘wares, merchandise’

commercial, commerce, mercy, mercer, mercenary, merci, 17 more

through Latin mercor ‘to trade, deal in, buy’

merchant, mercantile, mercantilism, 16 more

through Latin mercātus ‘trade, market’

merchandise, merch, mart, 6 more

Today it means

noun A gathering of people for the purchase and sale of merchandise, often periodic at a set time.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “market”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin merx. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Italic *merks / market

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