Etymograph

English

mart

Mart comes from Middle Dutch mart, and goes back to Latin mercātus.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmercātus1
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmarcātus1
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*markat1reconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500mart1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592mart1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English mart
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Faith Gentlemen now I play a marchants part, And…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmercātusWiktionary, English mart
  2. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEmarcātusWiktionary, English mart
  3. Old Dutchc. 500–1150*markatWiktionary, English martreconstructed
  4. Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500martWiktionary, English mart
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592martWiktionary, English mart. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “Faith Gentlemen now I play a marchants part, And…”

Linked words

through Latin mercātus

market, merchandise, merch, 6 more

Today it means

noun A shop, a store, a market.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “mart”. 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 / Latin mercātus / mart

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