What does "commerce" mean?
Commerce: Social intercourse; the dealings of one person or class in society with another; familiarity. Fifteen years of thought, observation, and commerce with the world had made him [Bunyan] wiser. Macaulay.
Additional senses
- 2.Sexual intercourse. W. Montagu.
- 3.A round game at cards, in which the cards are subject to exchange, barter, or trade. Hoyle. Chamber of commerce. See Chamber.
- 4.To carry on trade; to traffic. [Obs.] Beware you commerce not with bankrupts. B. Jonson.
- 5.To hold intercourse; to commune. Milton. Commercing with himself. Tennyson. Musicians . . . taught the people in angelic harmonies to commerce with heaven. Prof. Wilson.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00