mer·can·til·ism
(mûr′kən-tē-lĭz′əm, -tĭ-)n.
1. The theory and system of political economy prevailing in Europe after the decline of feudalism, based on national policies of accumulating bullion, establishing colonies and a merchant marine, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade.
2. The practice, methods, or spirit of merchants; commercialism.
[mercantil(e) + -ism.]
mer′can·til·ist adj. & n.
mer′can·til·is′tic adj.
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.
mercantilism
(ˈmɜːkəntɪˌlɪzəm)n
1. (Economics) economics Also called: mercantile system a theory prevalent in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries asserting that the wealth of a nation depends on its possession of precious metals and therefore that the government of a nation must maximize the foreign trade surplus, and foster national commercial interests, a merchant marine, the establishment of colonies, etc
2. (Commerce) a rare word for commercialism1
ˈmercanˌtilist n, adj
ˌmercantiˈlistic adj
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
mer•can•til•ism
(ˈmɜr kən tɪˌlɪz əm, -ti-, -taɪ-)n.
1. an economic and political policy, evolving with the modern nation-state, in which a government regulated the national economy with a view to the accumulation of gold and silver, esp. by achieving a balance of exports over imports.
2. mercantile practices or spirit; commercialism.
[1870–75; < French]
mer′can•til•ist, n., adj.
mer`can•til•is′tic, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
mercantilism
a political and economic policy seeking to advance a state above others by accumulating large quantities of precious metals and by exporting in large quantity while importing in small. — mercantilist, n. — mercantilistic, adj.
See also: Economics-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  mercantilism - an economic system (Europe in 18th century) to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all of the nation's commercial interestsmanaged economy - a non-market economy in which government intervention is important in allocating goods and resources and determining prices Europe - the 2nd smallest continent (actually a vast peninsula of Eurasia); the British use `Europe' to refer to all of the continent except the British Isles |
| 2. |  mercantilism - transactions (sales and purchases) having the objective of supplying commodities (goods and services)trading - buying or selling securities or commodities trade - the commercial exchange (buying and selling on domestic or international markets) of goods and services; "Venice was an important center of trade with the East"; "they are accused of conspiring to constrain trade" e-commerce - commerce conducted electronically (as on the internet) interchange, exchange - reciprocal transfer of equivalent sums of money (especially the currencies of different countries); "he earns his living from the interchange of currency" initial offering, initial public offering, IPO - a corporation's first offer to sell stock to the public business enterprise, commercial enterprise, business - the activity of providing goods and services involving financial and commercial and industrial aspects; "computers are now widely used in business" carriage trade - trade from upper-class customers transaction, dealing, dealings - the act of transacting within or between groups (as carrying on commercial activities); "no transactions are possible without him"; "he has always been honest is his dealings with me" importation, importing - the commercial activity of buying and bringing in goods from a foreign country exporting, exportation - the commercial activity of selling and shipping goods to a foreign country marketing - the commercial processes involved in promoting and selling and distributing a product or service; "most companies have a manager in charge of marketing" distribution - the commercial activity of transporting and selling goods from a producer to a consumer traffic - buying and selling; especially illicit trade evasion, nonpayment - the deliberate act of failing to pay money; "his evasion of all his creditors"; "he was indicted for nonpayment" usance - the period of time permitted by commercial usage for the payment of a bill of exchange (especially a foreign bill of exchange) commercialise, commercialize, market - make commercial; "Some Amish people have commercialized their way of life" buy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; "She buys for the big department store" take - buy, select; "I'll take a pound of that sausage" get - purchase; "What did you get at the toy store?" clear - sell; "We cleared a lot of the old model cars" turn - get by buying and selling; "the company turned a good profit after a year" negociate - sell or discount; "negociate securities" sell - exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent; "He sold his house in January"; "She sells her body to survive and support her drug habit" sell short - sell securities or commodities or foreign currency that is not actually owned by the seller, who hopes to cover (buy back) the sold items at a lower price and thus to earn a profit remainder - sell cheaply as remainders; "The publisher remaindered the books" resell - sell (something) again after having bought it deaccession - sell (art works) from a collection, especially in order to raise money for the purchase of other art works; "The museum deaccessioned several important works of this painter" sell, trade, deal - do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood; "She deals in gold"; "The brothers sell shoes" transact - conduct business; "transact with foreign governments" deal - sell; "deal hashish" retail - sell on the retail market wholesale - sell in large quantities trade in, trade - turn in as payment or part payment for a purchase; "trade in an old car for a new one" merchandise, trade - engage in the trade of; "he is merchandising telephone sets" traffic - trade or deal a commodity; "They trafficked with us for gold" arbitrage - practice arbitrage, as in the stock market turn over - do business worth a certain amount of money; "The company turns over ten million dollars a year" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
mercantilism
n → Merkantilismus m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007