mercantile
/ˈmɜːkəntaɪl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɜːrkəntiːl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmər-kən-ˌtēl -ˌtī(-ə)l/ (ame, mw)
mercantile — adjective
- mercantilepositive
- more mercantilecomparative
- most mercantilesuperlative
1. relating to the buying and selling of goods, or to all the activities that happe
relating to the buying and selling of goods, or to all the activities that happen between companies involved in trade — for example, the laws, agreements, or records that control or describe how business is done across regions.
The librarian found old mercantile records from the 1800s stored in the basement.
mercantile + noun (records, law, system)
Dr. Chen studied mercantile law in London before returning to her practice in Taipei.
Port cities often have a long history of mercantile activity with foreign countries.
The company's mercantile success depended on trust between buyers and sellers.
There were strict mercantile rules about which goods could cross the border.
- commercial
more common in everyday business contexts; 'commercial' can describe a single transaction while 'mercantile' is broader
- trade
often used as a noun modifier ('trade agreement') and overlaps with sense 1; less formal
- business
general-purpose adjective covering any profit-oriented activity; wider range than 'mercantile'
文法句型
mercantile + noun
用法筆記
Usually placed before a noun. More formal than 'commercial,' and tends to describe broad systems, regulations, or historical contexts rather than individual business transactions.
常見錯誤
2. relating to the economic theory popular in Europe from the 1500s to the 1700s, w
relating to the economic theory popular in Europe from the 1500s to the 1700s, which held that a nation's wealth came from its supply of gold and silver, and that the government should tightly control trade to sell more goods abroad than it bought from other countries.
Under the mercantile system, colonies could only trade with their home country.
mercantile system (the historical economic model)
Professor Wang showed how mercantile theory shaped trade between Europe and East Asia.
The mercantile policies of the 1600s required all goods to travel on British ships.
Historians still debate whether the mercantile era helped or hurt ordinary workers.
A key goal of mercantile thinking was to export more than a country imported.
- protectionist
describes modern policies that restrict imports; broader and not tied to a specific historical period
- colonial
partly overlapping — mercantile policies were closely tied to colonial expansion, but 'colonial' is a political rather than economic description
- free-trade
the opposing economic approach that favours open markets without government restrictions on imports and exports
文法句型
mercantile + noun
用法筆記
Almost exclusively used in historical or academic discussions of economic policy from the 16th to 18th centuries. The noun form 'mercantilism' is far more common in general use.