Merch

How to spell merch

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce merch

What does merch mean?

1. nounBranded promotional goods such as clothing, posters, or accessories, especially those sold by a band, brand, or event.

Merch in a sentence

• The band sold out of merch within an hour of the gig.

• Official tour merch included hoodies, mugs, and enamel pins.

Where does merch come from?

Language of origin: French

This is a modern, informal shortening of merchandise, a word that traces back through Old French to Latin. The Old French marcheandise meant 'goods for sale' and was built on marchand, a 'merchant' or trader, which in turn came from the Latin verb mercari, meaning 'to trade or deal in goods'. That verb rests on the noun merx, simply meaning 'merchandise' or 'wares', the same root that gives us 'commerce', 'market', and 'mercenary'. English took 'merchandise' in the 1300s, but the snappy clipped form 'merch' is recent, rising in the late twentieth century to describe branded goods sold at concerts, sporting events, and online shops. Because it ends in the sound of 'march', writers sometimes pause over the spelling, but the 'ch' stays exactly as it sits in 'merchant'.

How the word is built

• clipping of merchandise (merch- from mercari: to trade)