Other forms: mercers
A mercer was a dealer in fine cloth, especially silk. The mercer's shop, a wealthy mercer, apprenticed to a mercer.
The trade is gone but the word survives in the Mercers' Company, the senior of the twelve great livery companies of London, and in surnames. A mercer sold the expensive stuff; a draper sold ordinary cloth, and the two were separate trades.
1nounmercerA dealer in fine cloth, especially silk.
“In medieval London, a wealthy mercer sold silk and velvet to the nobility.”
mercer is a merchant.
Old French mercier comes from Latin merx, merchandise. Merchant and market are relatives.
Latin
merx
Anglo-Norman
marcer
English, today
mercer
Built from
From Anglo-Norman marcer, mercer (“merchant, textile merchant”), from merz (“commodity”) (from Latin merx).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA