chapman
See also: Chapman
English
Etymology
From Middle English chapman, chepman, from Old English ċēapmann (“dealer, merchant”), from Proto-West Germanic *kaupamann, from Proto-Germanic *kaupamann-, equivalent to cheap (noun) + man. Cognate with synonymous West Frisian keapman, Dutch koopman, German Low German Koopmann, German Kaufmann, Swedish köpman.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃæpmən/
Noun
chapman (plural chapmen)
- (obsolete) A dealer or merchant, especially an itinerant one.
- Synonym: peddler
- c. 1610, Ben Jonson, “Act 3”, in The Alchemist:
- 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
- chapbook
Further reading
- “chapman”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
chapman (occupation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Scots
Etymology
From Old English cēapmann (“dealer”) (cognate with synonymous German Kaufmann), from cēap (“barter, business, dealing”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /tʃapman/
Noun
chapman (plural chapmans)
- 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 quote)
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