Brokerage

How to spell brokerage

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce brokerage

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does brokerage mean?

1. nounA firm or business that buys and sells shares, property, or other assets on behalf of clients.
2. nounThe commission or fee charged by a broker for arranging a transaction.

Brokerage in a sentence

• She opened an account with an online brokerage to buy her first shares.

• The seller paid a hefty brokerage on the property deal.

• The brokerage employs dozens of analysts who advise wealthy investors.

• Each trade carries a small brokerage that is deducted automatically.

Where does brokerage come from?

Language of origin: French

This word grows from 'broker', which English took from Anglo-Norman French 'brocour' in the 1300s, a term for a retailer of wine or a small trader. That French word is generally traced to a root meaning to broach or tap a cask, since the original broker was someone who opened the barrel and sold the wine by the measure, acting as a middleman between supplier and buyer. From this practical trade sense the meaning broadened to anyone who arranges deals on another person's behalf, especially in money, property, and shipping. The suffix '-age', also from French and ultimately Latin '-aticum', was added to name the broker's activity, business, or the fee charged for it. That same '-age' turns up in 'postage', 'mileage', and 'storage', which is a useful reminder that the ending is spelled with a plain '-age' and not the '-idge' that the ear sometimes expects.

How the word is built

• broker (one who buys and sells for others)
• -age (noun suffix denoting an activity, business, or charge)