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Webster 1913 Edition

Trade

Trade

,
Noun.
[Formerly, a path, OE.
tred
a footmark. See
Tread
,
Noun.
&
Verb.
]
1.
A track; a trail; a way; a path; also, passage; travel; resort.
[Obs.]
A postern with a blind wicket there was,
A common
trade
to pass through Priam’s house.
Surrey.
Hath tracted forth some salvage beastes
trade
.
Spenser.
Or, I'll be buried in the king's highway,
Some way of common
trade
, where subjects' feet
May hourly trample on their sovereign's head.
Shakespeare
2.
Course; custom; practice; occupation; employment.
[Obs.]
“The right trade of religion.”
Udall.
There those five sisters had continual
trade
.
Spenser.
Long did I love this lady,
Long was my travel, long my
trade
to win her.
Massinger.
Thy sin's not accidental but a
trade
.
Shakespeare
3.
Business of any kind; matter of mutual consideration; affair; dealing.
[Obs.]
Have you any further
trade
with us?
Shakespeare
4.
Specifically: The act or business of exchanging commodities by barter, or by buying and selling for money; commerce; traffic; barter.
☞ Trade comprehends every species of exchange or dealing, either in the produce of land, in manufactures, in bills, or in money; but it is chiefly used to denote the barter or purchase and sale of goods, wares, and merchandise, either by wholesale or retail. Trade is either foreign or domestic. Foreign trade consists in the exportation and importation of goods, or the exchange of the commodities of different countries. Domestic, or home, trade is the exchange, or buying and selling, of goods within a country. Trade is also by the wholesale, that is, by the package or in large quantities, generally to be sold again, or it is by retail, or in small parcels. The carrying trade is the business of transporting commodities from one country to another, or between places in the same country, by land or water.
5.
The business which a person has learned, and which he engages in, for procuring subsistence, or for profit; occupation; especially, mechanical employment as distinguished from the liberal arts, the learned professions, and agriculture;
as, we speak of the
trade
of a smith, of a carpenter, or mason, but not now of the
trade
of a farmer, or a lawyer, or a physician
.
Accursed usury was all his
trade
.
Spenser.
The homely, slighted, shepherd's
trade
.
Milton.
I will instruct thee in my
trade
.
Shakespeare
6.
Instruments of any occupation.
[Obs.]
The house and household goods, his
trade
of war.
Dryden.
7.
A company of men engaged in the same occupation; thus, booksellers and publishers speak of the customs of the trade, and are collectively designated as the trade.
8.
pl.
The trade winds.
9.
Refuse or rubbish from a mine.
[Prov. Eng.]
Syn. – Profession; occupation; office; calling; avocation; employment; commerce; dealing; traffic.
Board of trade
.
See under
Board
.
–
Trade dollar
.
See under
Dollar
.
–
Trade price
,
the price at which goods are sold to members of the same trade, or by wholesale dealers to retailers.
–
Trade sale
,
an auction by and for the trade, especially that of the booksellers.
–
Trade wind
,
a wind in the torrid zone, and often a little beyond at, which blows from the same quarter throughout the year, except when affected by local causes; – so called because of its usefulness to navigators, and hence to trade.
☞ The general direction of the trade winds is from N. E. to S. W. on the north side of the equator, and from S. E. to N. W. on the south side of the equator. They are produced by the joint effect of the rotation of the earth and the movement of the air from the polar toward the equatorial regions, to supply the vacancy caused by heating, rarefaction, and consequent ascent of the air in the latter regions. The trade winds are principally limited to two belts in the tropical regions, one on each side of the equator, and separated by a belt which is characterized by calms or variable weather.

Trade

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Traded
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Trading
.]
1.
To barter, or to buy and sell; to be engaged in the exchange, purchase, or sale of goods, wares, merchandise, or anything else; to traffic; to bargain; to carry on commerce as a business.
A free port, where nations . . . resorted with their goods and
traded
.
Arbuthnot.
2.
To buy and sell or exchange property in a single instance.
3.
To have dealings; to be concerned or associated; – usually followed by with.
How did you dare to
trade
and traffic with Macbeth?
Shakespeare

Trade

,
Verb.
T.
To sell or exchange in commerce; to barter.
They
traded
the persons of men.
Ezek. xxvii. 13.
To dicker and to swop, to
trade
rifles and watches.
Cooper.

Trade

,
obs.
imp.
of
Tread
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Trade

TRADE

,
Noun.
[L. tracto, to handle, use, treat.]
1.
The act or business of exchanging commodities by barter; or the business of buying and selling for money; commerce; traffic; barter. Trade comprehends every species of exchange or dealing, either in the produce of land, in manufactures, in bills or money. It is however chiefly used to denote the barter or purchase and sale of goods, wares and merchandise, either by wholesale or retail. Trade is either foreign, or domestic or inland. Foreign trade consists in the exportation and importation of goods, or the exchange of the commodities of different countries. Domestic or home trade is the exchange or buying and selling of goods within a country. Trade is also by the wholesale, that is, by the package or in large quantities, or it is by retail, or in small parcels.
The carrying trade is that of transporting commodities from one country to another by water.
2.
The business which a person has learned and which he carries on for procuring subsistence or for profit; occupation; particularly, mechanical employment; distinguished from the liberal arts and learned professions, and from agriculture. Thus we speak of the trade of a smith, of a carpenter or mason. But we never say, the trade of a farmer or of a lawyer or physician.
3.
Business pursued; occupation; in contempt; as, piracy is their trade.
Hunting their sport, and plund'ring was their trade.
4.
Instruments of any occupation.
The shepherd bears
His house and household goods, his trade of war.
5.
Employment not manual; habitual exercise.
6.
Custom; habit; standing practice.
Thy sin's not accidental, but a trade.
7.
Men engaged in the same occupation. Thus booksellers speak of the customs of the trade.

TRADE

,
Verb.
I.
To barter, or to buy and sell; to deal in the exchange, purchase or sale of goods, wares and merchandise, or any thing else; to traffic; to carry on commerce as a business. Thus American merchants trade with the English at London and at Liverpool; they trade with the French at Havre and Bordeaux, and they trade with Canada. The country shopkeepers trade with London merchants. Our banks are permitted to trade in bills of exchange.
1.
To buy and sell or exchange property, in a single instance. Thus we say, man treats with another for his farm, but cannot trade with him. A traded with B for a horse or a number of sheep.
2.
To act merely for money.
How did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth?
3.
To have a trade wind.
They on the trading flood ply tow'rd the pole. [Unusual.]

TRADE

,
Verb.
T.
To sell or exchange in commerce.
They traded the persons of men. Ezek. 27.
[This, I apprehend, must be a mistake; at least it is not to be vindicated as a legitimate use of the verb.]

Definition 2024

trade

trade

See also: tradé and tråde

English

Noun

trade ‎(countable and uncountable, plural trades)

  1. (uncountable) Buying and selling of goods and services on a market.
  2. (countable) A particular instance of buying or selling.
    I did no trades with them once the rumors started.‎
  3. (countable) An instance of bartering items in exchange for one another.
    • 1989, Bruce Pandolfini, Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps, ISBN 0671656902, Glossary, page 225:
      EXCHANGE — A trade or swap of no material profit to either side.
    • 2009, Elliott Kalb and Mark Weinstein, The 30 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All Time, ISBN 9781602396784, page 60:
      When Golden State matched the Knicks' offer sheet, the Warriors and Knicks worked out a trade that sent King to New York for Richardson.
  4. (countable) Those who perform a particular kind of skilled work.
    The skilled trades were the first to organize modern labor unions.‎
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion:
      But through the oligopoly, charcoal fuel proliferated throughout London's trades and industries.  By the 1200s, brewers and bakers, tilemakers, glassblowers, pottery producers, and a range of other craftsmen all became hour-to-hour consumers of charcoal.
  5. (countable) Those engaged in an industry or group of related industries.
    It is not a retail showroom. It is only for the trade.‎
  6. (countable) The skilled practice of a practical occupation.
    He learned his trade as an apprentice.‎
  7. (countable or uncountable) An occupation in the secondary sector; as opposed to an agricultural, professional or military one.
    After failing his entrance exams, he decided to go into a trade.‎
    Most veterans went into trade when the war ended.‎
    • 2007, Michael Lynch, The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, USA: Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780199234820, page 228:
      Subsequently some Scottish troops settled, took up trade as weavers, tailors, or mariners, and married Dutch women.
    • 2012, Liberty Carrington, Wide Eyes Closed, AuthorHouse, ISBN 9781477293898, page 92:
      Getting a job in your major is no breeze: Remember we made fun of those who took up a trade
  8. (uncountable, Britain) The business given to a commercial establishment by its customers.
    Even before noon there was considerable trade.‎
  9. (chiefly in the plural) Steady winds blowing from east to west above and below the equator.
    They rode the trades going west.‎
    • (Can we date this quote?), James Horsburgh, (Please provide the title of the work):
      the north-east trade
  10. (only as plural) A publication intended for participants in an industry or related group of industries.
    Rumors about layoffs are all over the trades.‎
  11. (uncountable, LGBT, slang) A brief sexual encounter.
    Josh picked up some trade last night.‎
  12. (obsolete, uncountable) Instruments of any occupation.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Dryden, (Please provide the title of the work):
      the house and household goods, his trade of war
  13. (mining) Refuse or rubbish from a mine.
  14. (obsolete) A track or trail; a way; a path; passage.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Surrey, (Please provide the title of the work):
      A postern with a blind wicket there was, / A common trade to pass through Priam's house.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Spenser, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Hath tracted forth some salvage beastes trade.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Shakespeare, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Or, I'll be buried in the king's highway, / Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet / May hourly trample on their sovereign's head.
  15. (obsolete) Course; custom; practice; occupation.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Udall, (Please provide the title of the work):
      the right trade of religion
    • (Can we date this quote?), Spenser, (Please provide the title of the work):
      There those five sisters had continual trade.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Massinger, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Long did I love this lady, / Long was my travel, long my trade to win her.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Shakespeare, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Thy sin's not accidental but a trade.

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:trade.

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Synonyms

  • (the commercial exchange of goods and services): commerce
  • (the collective people who perform a particular kind of skilled work): business
  • (the skilled practice of a practical occupation): craft
  • (An instance of buying and selling): deal, barter
  • (the business given to a commercial establishment by its customers): patronage

Translations

Verb

trade ‎(third-person singular simple present trades, present participle trading, simple past and past participle traded)

  1. (intransitive) To engage in trade
    This company trades in precious metal.‎
    • (Can we date this quote?), Arbuthnot, (Please provide the title of the work):
      a free port, where nations […] resorted with their goods and traded
  2. (intransitive) To be traded at a certain price or under certain conditions.
  3. (transitive) To give (something) in exchange for.
    Will you trade your precious watch for my earring?‎
  4. (horticulture, transitive or intransitive) To give someone a plant and receive a different one in return.
  5. (intransitive or transitive) To do business; offer for sale as for one's livelihood.
  6. (intransitive) To have dealings; to be concerned or associated (with).
    • (Can we date this quote?), Shakespeare, (Please provide the title of the work):
      How did you dare to trade and traffic with Macbeth?

Quotations

  • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:trade.

Derived terms

Synonyms

  • (engage in the trade of): deal
  • (be traded at a certain price or under certain conditions):
  • (give something in exchange for): exchange, swap, switch
  • (do business): do business, make a deal

Translations

See also

Anagrams

Dutch

Verb

trade

  1. (archaic) singular past subjunctive of treden

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tʁɛd/

Verb

trade

  1. first-person singular present indicative of trader
  2. third-person singular present indicative of trader
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of trader
  4. first-person singular present subjunctive of trader
  5. second-person singular imperative of trader

Anagrams

Latin

Verb

trāde

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of trādō

References

  • trade in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers

Etymology

From Middle English trade ‎(“path, course of conduct”), introduced into English by Hanseatic merchants, from Middle Low German trade ‎(“track, course”), from Old Saxon trada ‎(“spoor, track”), from Proto-Germanic *tradō ‎(“track, way”), and cognate with Old English tredan ‎(“to tread”); See Online Etymology Dictionary

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /tɹeɪd/
  • Rhymes: -eɪd

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