chapman
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See also: Chapman
English
Etymology
From Middle English chapman, chepman, from Old English ċēapmann (“dealer, merchant”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaupamann, equivalent to cheap (noun) + man. Cognate with synonymous West Frisian keapman, Dutch koopman, German Low German Koopmann, German Kaufmann, Swedish köpman.
Pronunciation
Noun
chapman (plural chapmen)
- (obsolete) A dealer or merchant, especially an itinerant one.
- c. 1610, Ben Jonson, The Alchemist, act 3:
- Done. They are gone: the sum is here in bank, my Face. I would we knew another chapman now would buy 'em outright.
- 1790, Robert Burns, Tam o' Shanter:
- When chapmen billies leave the street, / And drouthy neibors, neibors meet, / As market days are wearing late, / An' folk begin to tak the gate
- (obsolete) A purchaser.
Derived terms
- chap, shortened form (16th century)
- chapmanhood
- chapmanship
Related terms
Further reading
- “chapman”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
chapman (occupation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Middle English
Alternative forms
- capman, chepman, chipman, schapman, schipman, shapmann
- chapmon, chæpmon, chepmon (Early Middle English)
- chappmann (Ormulum)
Etymology
From Old English ċēapmann, from Proto-West Germanic *kaupamann; equivalent to chep (“price”) + man (“man”).
Forms in /i/ may be from the Old English variant ċȳpman, presumably influenced by the verb ċīepan.
Pronunciation
Noun
chapman (plural chapmen)
- A merchant; a seller of goods.
- (figuratively) A negotiator or dealer.
- (by extension) A purchaser of goods.
Descendants
References
- “chap-man, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Scots
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English chapman, from Old English cēapmann (“dealer”) (cognate with synonymous German Kaufmann), from cēap (“barter, business, dealing”).
Pronunciation
Noun
chapman (plural chapmen)
- packman, pedlar
- 1790, Robert Burns, Tam o' Shanter:
- When chapman billies leave the street, / And drouthy neibors, neibors, meet
- (please add an English translation of this quotation)