People who buy and sell goods, especially in large quantities for profit.
From Old French 'merchant' and Vulgar Latin 'mercatans,' from 'mercatus' (market), which comes from 'merx' (goods). Medieval merchants were the backbone of European trade and power.
Medieval merchants were so powerful they essentially ran city-states—Venice, Genoa, the Hanseatic League—proving that whoever controls trade controls politics. Modern billionaires and tech giants are the spiritual descendants of merchant princes.
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