Merce
NOUN [feminine]
Meaning and English translation 🔖
Goods, Merchandise
🇬🇧 Any product or item that can be bought, sold, or traded.
🇮🇹 Ogni bene economico oggetto di contrattazione e di scambio.
| Masculine ♂️ | Feminine ♀️ | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | - | la - una merce |
| Plural | - | le - delle merci |
Example sentences 💬
Questa merce è di ottima qualità.
This merchandise is top quality.
La merce è arrivata danneggiata.
The shipment arrived damaged.
Tutte le merci devono essere sdoganate prima di entrare nel paese.
All goods must clear customs before entering the country.
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Idioms with merce 🇮🇹
Merce di scambio
→ Bargaining chip
I prigionieri furono usati come merce di scambio nelle trattative.
The prisoners were used as bargaining chips in the negotiations.
Merce in conto vendita
→ Consignment goods
Il negozio accetta merce in conto vendita da artigiani locali.
The shop takes items on consignment from local artisans.
Cambio merce
→ Barter advertising / Advertising swap
→ Product exchange / Product return
L'emittente radio offre spazi pubblicitari in cambio merce.
The radio station offers advertising slots in exchange for products.
Il negozio offre il cambio merce entro 30 giorni dall'acquisto.
The store offers product exchanges within 30 days of purchase.
Merce rara
→ Rare commodity
Un amico sincero è merce rara di questi tempi.
A true friend is a rare commodity these days.
Treno merci
→ Freight train
Il treno merci passa sempre a mezzanotte.
The freight train always passes at midnight.
Scalo merci
→ Freight yard
Lo scalo merci è operativo 24 ore su 24.
The freight yard operates 24 hours a day.
Essere alla mercé di qualcuno
→ To be at someone's mercy
I contadini erano alla mercé del loro padrone.
The farmers were at the mercy of their landlord.
PS: Spotted the accent on mercé? It's actually a different word from merce (goods). I thought I should point this out, as you might come across it and assume it's the same word. These days, mercé only really pops up in the expression above.
Where does the word merce come from? 🔎
Merce comes from the Latin merx, which in turn stems from the Latin verb merere (to deserve, to purchase, to earn, to have a share). This connection suggests two possible interpretations of its origin:
• merce might mean "that which deserves (a price)";
• it might be linked to the concept of a "distributable share", since merere also meant "to participate" (as we can see in the Greek mèros, meaning "part of a whole").
