Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

mercātor, ōris, m. [mercor], a trader, merchant, esp. a wholesale dealer (opp. to caupo, a retailer; class.).

  1. I. Lit.: venalicii mercatoresque, Cic. Or. 70, 232: multi ad eos mercatores ventitant, Caes. B. G. 4, 3.
  2. II. Transf.
    1. A. A dealer, speculator: non consules, sed mercatores provinciarum, Cic. post Red. in Sen. 4, 10.
      Rarely of a petty dealer: vilis sacci mercator olentis, Juv. 14, 269.
    2. B. A buyer, purchaser: signorum, Cic. Verr. 1, 20, 60: veneni, Juv. 13, 154.

mercātus, ūs, m. [mercor],

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
    1. 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.

mercor, ātus, 1 (archaic form, mercassitur for mercatus fuerit, Inscr. Grut. 512, 20.
Inf. mercarier for mercari, Hor. S. 2, 3, 24), v. dep. n. and a. [id.], to trade, traffic, deal in commodities (absol., Plaut. Merc. prol. 82), to buy, purchase something from a person (cf. nundinor).

  1. I. Lit., constr. with aliquid ab or de aliquo, with abl. or gen. of the price (class.): aliquid ab aliquo, Cic. Off. 1, 42, 150: fundum de pupillo, id. Fl. 20, 46: aliquid tanto pretio, id. Rosc. Am. 46, 133: hortos egregiasque domos, Hor. S. 2, 3, 24: quanti mercatura mullum luxuria? Plin. 9, 18, 31, § 68: hanc (segetem), Juv. 14, 143.
    In part. pres.: mercans, antis, subst., a buyer, purchaser: spem mercantium frustrari, Suet. Aug. 75.
  2. II. Trop.: ego haec officia mercanda vitā puto, to be purchased with life, Cic. Att. 9, 5, 3: amorem muneribus, Prop. 2, 16 (3, 8), 15.
    In pass. signif., to be bought (mostly post-Aug.): jam quidem facta emplastra mercantur, Plin. 34, 11, 25, § 108.
    Part. perf.: mercātus, a, um, bought, purchased: commeatibus mercatis, Sall. Fragm. ap. Non. 138, 12: cultus, Prop. 1, 2, 5: sestertiis centum quinquaginta milibus trullam unam mercatam a matrefamilias, Plin. 37, 2, 10, § 29 (the better reading is mercatā matre, Jan.).