Meaning

noun an economic system (Europe in 18th century) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interests

noun transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)

originEtymology tree Proto-Italic *merks Latin merx Latin mercor Latin mercantem Italian mercante Latin -īlemder. Italian -ile Italian mercantilebor. French mercantilebor. English mercantile Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō) Proto-Indo-European *-mos Proto-Indo-European *-mós Ancient Greek -μός (-mós)…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0