mer·chant (mûr?ch?nt)n.1. One whose occupation is the wholesale purchase and retail sale of goods for profit.2. One who runs a retail business; a shopkeeper.adj.1. Of or relating to merchants, merchandise, or commercial trade: a merchant guild.2. Of or relating to the merchant marine: merchant ships.[Middle English marchaunt, from Old French marcheant, from Vulgar Latin *merc?t?ns, present participle of *merc?t?re, frequentative of Latin merc?r?, to trade, from merx, merc-, merchandise.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.merchant (?m??t??nt) n1. (Professions) a person engaged in the purchase and sale of commodities for profit, esp on international markets; trader2. (Commerce) chiefly US and Canadian a person engaged in retail trade3. (Historical Terms) (esp in historical contexts) any trader4. derogatory a person dealing or involved in something undesirable: a gossip merchant. 5. (Commerce) (modifier) a. of the merchant navy: a merchant sailor. b. of or concerned with trade: a merchant ship. vb (Commerce) (tr) to conduct trade in; deal in[C13: from Old French, probably from Vulgar Latin merc?t?re (unattested), from Latin merc?r? to trade, from merx goods, wares] ?merchant-?like adjMerchant (?m??t??nt) n (Biography) Ismail (??zme??l). 1936?2005, Indian film producer, noted for his collaboration with James Ivory on such films as Shakespeare Wallah (1965), The Europeans (1979), A Room with a View (1986), The Remains of the Day (1993), and The Golden Bowl (2000)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014mer?chant (?m?r t??nt) n. 1. a person whose business is buying and selling goods for profit; dealer; trader. 2. a storekeeper; retailer. 3. a person who deals or indulges in something undesirable: merchants of gloom and doom. adj. 4. used for trade or commerce: a merchant ship. 5. pertaining to the merchant marine. [1250?1300; Middle English marchant