Mercery

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Textiles and fabrics such as silks, velvets and linens offered for sale by a dealer in fine cloth ; the trade or business of a merchant who deals in such cloth
2. Fine cloth and dry goods traded by a merchant specializing in textiles ; the craft or shop of a dealer who sells fabrics and related wares
3. Woven materials and draperies sold by a cloth merchant ; the commercial trade or premises where a mercer conducts business in fabric

Etymology: "Mercery" is the trade in cloth and sewing goods, and its name comes from French "mercerie," the business of the "mercier," a dealer in small wares. Those wares were the stuff of ordinary household needs: thread, ribbon, buttons, pins and needles, and cloth of various kinds. The French noun grew from "mercier," itself a derivative of "merz" and the Latin "merx," meaning merchandise or goods, so the word has always meant trade in goods at its core. English took the term from French, and it has kept the old commercial sense rather than acquiring a new one. A mercer, the person who ran such a shop, gave his name to the trade, and the word "mercery" names both the shop's stock and the business of selling it. Because the source only gives the French origin, the exact date of its arrival in English is best left unstated.

Synonyms: drapery, haberdashery