LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinefourth declension

mercātus

mercātus m (genitive mercātūs)
Classical[mɛrˈkaː.tʊs]Ecclesiastical[merˈkaː.tus]

Meaning

  1. trade, traffic, buying and selling
  2. market, marketplace
  3. festival assemblage, public feast

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemercātusmercātūs
genitivemercātūsmercātuum
dativemercātuīmercātibus
accusativemercātummercātūs
ablativemercātūmercātibus
vocativemercātusmercātūs

mercātus, ūs, m. id.,
I. trade, traffic, buying and selling (class.): apud aedem Veneris mercatus meretricius, Plaut. Poen. 1, 2, 129: turpissimus mercatus, Cic. Phil. 2, 3, 6: domesticus, id. ib. 3, 12, 30.—
II. Transf., a place for trade, market-place. market, mart: postquam pater ad mercatum abiit, Plaut. Most. 4, 2, 55: frequens mercatus, Liv. 1, 30: mercatus conventusque Graeciae, Suet. Ner. 28: mercatu indicto, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 53, § 133: Asiae Graeciaeque, Liv. 33, 32, 2; Tac. H. 3, 30: (Numa Pompilius) mercatus ludos omnesque conveniendi causas et celebritates invenit, Cic. Rep. 2, 14, 27.—
B. In gen., a festival assemblage, public feast, transl. of the Greek πανήγυρις: mercatus is qui habetur maximo ludorum apparatu, totius Graeciae celebritate, Cic. Tusc. 5, 3, 8: in mercatu Olympiaco, Just. 13, 5, 3: Asiae Graeciaeque is mercatus erat, Liv. 33, 32, 2: magna pars Italiae stato in eosdem dies mercatu congregata, Tac. H. 3, 30.

Origins

  1. Proto-Italic*merks
  2. Latinmercātus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -or Latin mercor Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Italic *-tus Latin -tus Latin mercātus From mercor (“to trade, traffic, deal”) + -tus (action noun suffix).

Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianmercato
  • Frenchmercatofrom Italian mercato
  • Spanishmercatofrom Italian mercato
  • Neapolitanmercato
  • Sicilianmircatu
  • Venetanmercà
  • Venetanmarcà
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianmercadu
  • Sardinianmelcadu
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanmercat
  • Occitanmercat
  • Franco-Provençalmarchiê
  • Old Frenchmarchié
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesemercadofrom Old Galician-Portuguese mercado
  • Spanishmercadofrom Old Spanish mercado
  • Asturianmercáu
  • Falamercaufrom Old Galician-Portuguese mercado
  • Galicianmercadofrom Old Galician-Portuguese mercado
  • HunsrikMërkaatfrom Old Galician-Portuguese mercado
  • Ladinomerkadofrom Old Spanish mercado
Elsewhere
  • Italianmercatarefrom Vulgar Latin *mercātāre
  • Old Frenchmarcheantfrom Vulgar Latin *mercātāre
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianmarcjât
  • Ladinmarcià
  • Romanshmartgà
  • Romanshmarcà
  • Romanshmarcua
Borrowings
  • Basquemerkatu
  • Old Irishmargad
  • Proto-Brythonic*marxad
  • Proto-West Germanic*markat

In English words that came into English from mercātus

  • marketmercātus
  • merchandisemercātus
  • martmarcātus

Quick answers

What does mercātus mean in Latin?
mercātus, a noun, means “trade, traffic, buying and selling; market, marketplace; festival assemblage, public feast”.
What is the genitive of mercātus?
The genitive singular is mercātūs. mercātus is masculine, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce mercātus?
In classical Latin, [mɛrˈkaː.tʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [merˈkaː.tus].
Where does mercātus come from?
Proto-Italic *merks → Latin mercātus.
Which English words come from mercātus?
English words that go back to Latin mercātus include market, merchandise and mart.