merch

See also: Merch., and merc'h

English

Etymology

Clipping of merchandise.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /mɝt͡ʃ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mɜːtʃ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃ

Noun

merch (uncountable)

1. (informal) goods which are or were offered or intended for sale.
   • 2007 February 15, Eric Wilson, “Babes in Label Land”, in New York Times‎^[1]:

     His playful point of view on youthful American sportswear, expressed in boxy mohair jackets with graphic resin bubble buttons and tomboy T-shirt dresses in superfine chiffon as bright as tangerine sorbet, is backed up with what stores would describe as the merch: easy scoop-neck cashmere sweaters in a mix of colors, lightweight T-shirts and sheared mink Army caps.

   1. (especially in entertainment, sports, marketing) goods connected with an entity such as a team, band, work of fiction, etc.
      • 2012, Jesse Cannon, Todd Thomas, Get More Fans: The DIY Guide to the New Music Business:

        Many musicians make merch you can only get if you join the fanclub.

      • 2016 November 15, Sam Reed, “Still Fired Up? Hillary Clinton Merch Marked Down to Move”, in Hollywood Reporter:

        With almost two months until Inauguration Day, fans who were "With Her" (or are still "With Her") can grab Clinton merch — now at deeply marked-down prices.

      • 2019 October 19, “'OK Boomer' Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations”, in NY Times:

        The merch is proof of how much the sentiment resonates with people.

Translations

Translations

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: Fanartikel m or m pl
• Hungarian: cucc (hu), szajré (hu)
• Italian: articolo promozionale m
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can

See also

• swag

Verb

merch (third-person singular simple present merches, present participle merching, simple past and past participle merched)

1. (slang, rare) To merchandise.
   • 1995, SPIN, volume 11, number 1, page 10:

     Maligned by rockers, misunderstood by critics, and merched by Madison Avenue, rave may be the only vital youth culture remaining.

2. (slang, Chicago) To provide proof.
   • 2014 November 13, “Killa” (track 3), in Young Pappy (lyrics), 2 Cups: Part 2 of EveryThing‎^[2], 0:56:

     And I can merch on my homie, I'm used to ridin' 'round by my lonely

Middle English

Noun

merch

1. Alternative form of merche

Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *merx, from Proto-Celtic *merkā (compare Cornish myrgh, mergh, Breton merc’h), from Proto-Indo-European *méryos (“boy, girl”) (compare Scottish Gaelic smarach (“lad”), Latin marītus (“husband”), Ancient Greek μεῖραξ (meîrax, “boy, girl”), Old Armenian մարի (mari)). Related to morwyn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛrχ/
• Rhymes: -ɛrχ

Noun

merch f (plural merched)

1. girl, maiden

   Synonyms: hogan, geneth

   Peidiwch â phoeni'r merched yn y babell nesa.

   Don't pester the girls in the next tent.

2. daughter

   Synonym: hogen

3. woman

   Synonyms: dynes, menyw

Usage notes

Merch has a wider semantic field than English "girl" and can be used to refer to "girl", "daughter" and even "woman" depending on context. Other words such as hogan, geneth, dynes and menyw are less broad in their meanings than merch.

Coordinate terms

• mab (“son”)
• mam (“mother”)
• tad (“father”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of merch

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
merch	ferch	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “merch”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies