Bazar

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A marketplace prevalent in Middle Eastern and South Asian cultures where a variety of goods, such as food, textiles, and crafts, are bought and sold
2. An open-air market or covered section of stalls and shops that offers a diverse selection of products and serves as a social hub for locals
3. A trading venue characterized by bustling activity where vendors present an array of items, contributing to the vibrant atmosphere of commerce and community interaction

Etymology: "Bazar" is an older spelling of "bazaar," and the word's route into European languages runs through several empires. Its ultimate source is Persian "bâzâr," meaning a marketplace, which passed into Ottoman Turkish as "bazar" with the same sense. From there it reached European trade languages: Italian had "bazar," and French took it as "bazar" in the Middle French period, with English borrowing it from that French form. The Persian word itself is a compound of older elements, and the Ottoman route explains why the word spread so widely across Europe. Traders carrying goods along Mediterranean and Levantine routes encountered the institution as well as the name, so the word traveled with the commerce it described. The English spelling "bazaar" with a double "a" came to dominate, and "bazar" survives mainly in older texts.

Synonyms: market, bazaar, emporium, mart, fair