Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Mercantile?

\Mer"can*tile\ (?; 277), a. [F. mercantile, It. mercantile, fr. L. mercans, -antis, p. pr. of mercari to traffic. See {Merchant}.] Of or pertaining to merchants, or the business of merchants; having to do with trade, or the buying and selling of commodities; commercial. The expedition of the Argonauts was partly mercantile, partly military. --Arbuthnot. {Mercantile agency}, an agency for procuring information of the standing and credit of merchants in different parts of the country, for the use of dealers who sell to them. {Mercantile marine}, the persons and vessels employed in commerce, taken collectively. {Mercantile paper}, the notes or acceptances given by merchants for goods bought, or received on consignment; drafts on merchants for goods sold or consigned. --McElrath. Syn: {Mercantile}, {Commercial}. Usage: Commercial is the wider term, being sometimes used to embrace mercantile. In their stricter use, commercial relates to the shipping, freighting, forwarding, and other business connected with the commerce of a country (whether external or internal), that is, the exchange of commodities; while mercantile applies to the sale of merchandise and goods when brought to market. As the two employments are to some extent intermingled, the two words are often interchanged.