Dictionary

commodity en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /kəˈmɑdəti/ (General-American)
• /kəˈmɒdəti/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• /-tɪ/ (Scotland)
• /kəˈmɔdɪte/ (Scotland)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /-ti/ (Scotland)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin com- Proto-Indo-European *med- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Italic *medos Latin modus Latin commodus Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts Proto-Italic *-tāts Latin -tās Latin commoditāsder. Anglo-Norman commoditeebor. Middle English commoditee English commodity Inherited from Middle English commoditee, borrowed from Anglo-Norman commoditee, from Latin commoditās.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Anything movable (a good) that is bought and sold.
   • For mineral trains, he adds little other than pointing out the need to expand single-commodity trains and to end the use of mixed-commodity services that required extensive marshalling. 2023 March 8, Gareth Dennis, “The Reshaping of things to come...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 48:
   • Referring to the work of Bourdieu, Zukin (2004,38) notes that shopping is much more than the purchase of commodities. 2005, William Leiss, Botterill, Jacki, Social Communication in Advertising: Consumption in the Mediated Marketplace, page 307:
   • If a key part of shopping is the conversion of anonymous commodities into possessions, shopping is a cultural as much as an economic activity. 1995, James G. Carrier, Gifts and Commodities: Exchange and Western Capitalism Since 1700, page 122:
   • It is with the help of the commodity concept that the mechanism of the market is geared to the various elements of industrial life. Commodities are here empirically defined as objects produced for sale on the market; […]. But labor, land, and money are obviously not commodities; the postulate that anything that is bought and sold must have been produced for sale is emphatically untrue in regard to them. 1957 [1944], Karl Polanyi, chapter 6, in The Great Transformation, Beacon Press: Boston, page 72:
   • In human geography "commodities" usually refers to goods and services which are bought and sold. The simplest commodities are those produced by the production system just before they are sold. 2001, Rachel Pain, Introducing Social Geographies, page 26:
2. (countable, uncountable) Something useful or valuable.
   • And Slade said: "It really makes me sad that football club chairmen and boards seem to have lost that most precious commodity - patience. "Sam's sacking at Newcastle had, I suppose, been on the cards for a while, but it is really ridiculous to fire a manager after such a short time. 2008 January 14, Somerset County Gazette:
3. (countable, uncountable) Raw materials, agricultural and other primary products as objects of large-scale trading in specialized exchanges.
   • The price of crude oil is determined in continuous trading between professional players in World's many commodities exchanges.
4. (countable, uncountable) Undifferentiated goods characterized by a low profit margin and (usually) fungibility, as distinguished from branded products not wholly fungible.
   • Although they were once in the forefront of consumer electronics, the calculators have become a mere commodity.
5. (Marxism, countable, uncountable) Anything which has both a use value and an exchange value.
6. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Convenience; usefulness, suitability.
7. (countable, obsolete, uncountable) Self-interest; personal convenience or advantage.
   • they commonly respect their own ends, commodity is the steer of all their action[…]. 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
   • Shall we employ the intelligence Heaven hath bestowed upon us for our greatest good, to our ruine? repugning natures desseign and the universal order and vicissitude of things, which implieth that every man should use his instruments and meanes for his owne commoditie? 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

commodity exchange · multicommodity · commodity fetish · commoditize · discommodity · commodity meat · commodity market · commodity diplomacy · commodify · commodity currency · cryptocommodity · commodity money · biocommodity · commodityism · commodity fetishism

Descendants

commodité · komodita · коммодитиз · コモディティ · komodita · komoditas · комодити · коммодити · comódite

Relateds

commoditization · commodification

Translations (206)

fa-ira مَتاع (anything movable traded) · lt prẽkė (anything movable traded) · cv тавар (anything movable traded) · es bien (anything movable traded) · ba тауар (anything movable traded) · cs produkt (anything movable traded) · de Rohstoff (primary product as object of trade) · hu árucikk (anything movable traded) · ru проду́кт (anything movable traded) · es artículo de consumo (anything movable traded) · my ကုန်ပစ္စည်း (anything movable traded) · tk haryt (anything movable traded) · fa-ira جِنْس (anything movable traded) · ug تاۋار (anything movable traded) · fr marchandise (anything movable traded) · tt тауар (anything movable traded) · sv handelsvara (anything movable traded) · cs zboží (anything movable traded) · km ទំនិញ (anything movable traded) · hi माल (anything movable traded) · tl kalakal (primary product as object of trade) · ota مال (anything movable traded) · ja 財 (anything movable traded) · is vörur (anything movable traded) · pt bem (anything movable traded) · mi taongahoko (anything movable traded) · orv товаръ (anything movable traded) · fr bien (anything movable traded) · gd bathar (anything movable traded) · es commodity (primary product as object of trade) · fa-ira مال (anything movable traded) · be тава́р (anything movable traded) · th โภคภัณฑ์ (anything movable traded) · el αγαθά (anything movable traded) · ar بِضَاعَة (anything movable traded) · ka საქონელი (anything movable traded) · sl blago (anything movable traded) · he מְצְרָךְ (something useful) · tg мол (anything movable traded) · hi पण्य (anything movable traded) · sh ро̏ба (anything movable traded) · tr mal (anything movable traded) · hi जिंस (anything movable traded) · yi סכוירע (anything movable traded) · sk tovar (anything movable traded) · it materia prima (primary product as object of trade) · gl mercadoría (anything movable traded) · cmn 產品 /产品 (anything movable traded) · de No-Name-Produkt (undifferentiated good) · sh ро̏ба (primary product as object of trade) · de Gut (anything movable traded) · mn бараа (anything movable traded) · bg сто́ка (anything movable traded) · de Konsumware (primary product as object of trade) · ms barangan (anything movable traded) · it prodotto (anything movable traded) · ar سِلْعَة (anything movable traded) · pl dobro (anything movable traded) · fi kauppatavara (anything movable traded) · ja 品物 (anything movable traded) · de Gut (something useful) · sah табаар (anything movable traded) · nl waar (anything movable traded) · vi hàng hoá (anything movable traded) · pt comodidade (something useful) · ro bun de consum (undifferentiated good) · pl towar (anything movable traded) · de Standardware (undifferentiated good) · az mal (anything movable traded) · kk тауар (anything movable traded) · sh rȍba (primary product as object of trade) · id barang-barang (anything movable traded) · cmn 貨物 /货物 (anything movable traded) · fa-ira اَجْناس (anything movable traded) · hy ապրանք (anything movable traded) · hu portéka (anything movable traded) · th สินค้า (anything movable traded) · ru това́р (anything movable traded) · ug مال (anything movable traded) · es mercancía homogénea (primary product as object of trade) · yi סחורה (anything movable traded) · ja 商材 (anything movable traded) · fi avu (something useful) · grc φορτία (anything movable traded) · es mercancía (anything movable traded) · pt artigo de consumo (anything movable traded) · lo ສິນຄ້າ (anything movable traded) · it bene (anything movable traded) · uz mol (anything movable traded) · km អីវ៉ាន់ (anything movable traded) · de Handelsware (anything movable traded) · ru бла́го (anything movable traded) · ru добро́ (anything movable traded) · ja 品 (anything movable traded) · ar مَتَاع (anything movable traded) · lo ສິນ (anything movable traded) · fi tavara (anything movable traded) · fi raaka-aine (primary product as object of trade) · sq mall (anything movable traded) · ko 상품 (anything movable traded) · ms barang (anything movable traded) · hi उत्पाद (anything movable traded) · fr bien de consommation courante (undifferentiated good) · tl kalakal (anything movable traded) · pt produto (anything movable traded) · ko 물품 (anything movable traded) · io komercajo (anything movable traded) · vi thương phẩm (anything movable traded) · ms komoditi (primary product as object of trade) · ps متاع (anything movable traded) · ca mercaderia (anything movable traded) · fa-ira کالا (anything movable traded) · eo varo (anything movable traded) · mk стока (anything movable traded) · pt bem de consumo (undifferentiated good) · es bien homogéneo (primary product as object of trade) · ko 물건 (anything movable traded) · pt bem de consumo (anything movable traded) · ja 商品 (anything movable traded) · pl towar standaryzowany (undifferentiated good) · pl surowiec (primary product as object of trade) · uz tovar (anything movable traded) · is vara (anything movable traded) · bg това́р (anything movable traded) · nb gods (anything movable traded) · el εμπόρευμα (anything movable traded) · it bene (something useful) · fi hyödyke (anything movable traded) · nl goederen (anything movable traded) · pt artigo de consumo (undifferentiated good) · ar بَضَائِع (anything movable traded) · gl materia prima (primary product as object of trade) · sh rȍba (anything movable traded) · et kaup (anything movable traded) · fi hyödyke (primary product as object of trade) · ur جِنْس (anything movable traded) · cmn 製品 /制品 (anything movable traded) · uk проду́кт (anything movable traded) · ga earra (anything movable traded) · fr produit (anything movable traded) · pt matéria-prima (primary product as object of trade) · gl ben (something useful) · io varo (anything movable traded) · pl towar rynkowy (undifferentiated good) · de Handelsgut (anything movable traded) · pt comodidade (anything movable traded) · de Verbrauchsgut (primary product as object of trade) · fi massahyödyke (undifferentiated good) · ur مال (anything movable traded) · de Massenware (undifferentiated good) · de unverarbeitete Ware (primary product as object of trade) · he סְחוֹרָה (anything movable traded) · sh до̀бро (something useful) · da handelsvare (anything movable traded) · it merce (anything movable traded) · pt bem (something useful) · ja 物品 (anything movable traded) · bn পণ্য (anything movable traded) · sv gods (anything movable traded) · hi वस्तु (anything movable traded) · gl artigo de consumo (undifferentiated good) · my ကုန် (anything movable traded) · tr emtia (anything movable traded) · tk harytlar (anything movable traded) · pt commodity (primary product as object of trade) · sh до̀бро (anything movable traded) · sv vara (anything movable traded) · da vare (anything movable traded) · pl towar (something useful) · hu áru (anything movable traded) · pa ਜਿਨਸ (anything movable traded) · ky товар (anything movable traded) · ur اَجْناس (anything movable traded) · fi hyödyke (something useful) · de Ware (anything movable traded) · nb vare (anything movable traded) · nl verbruiksgoed (primary product as object of trade) · ar سِلَع (anything movable traded) · alt табар (anything movable traded) · mn таваар (anything movable traded) · ro obiect de uz (anything movable traded) · la merx (anything movable traded) · id komoditas (primary product as object of trade) · lv prece (anything movable traded) · ro articol de consum (anything movable traded) · kmr kelûpel (anything movable traded) · cs zboží (primary product as object of trade) · es producto básico (primary product as object of trade) · lo ເຂົ້າຂອງ (anything movable traded) · cmn 商品 (anything movable traded) · id barang (anything movable traded) · sh dòbro (anything movable traded) · ru добро́ (something useful) · az əmtəə (anything movable traded) · uk това́р (anything movable traded) · tr eşya (anything movable traded) · nl grondstof (primary product as object of trade) · ur سامان (anything movable traded) · pt mercadoria (anything movable traded) · hi सामान (anything movable traded) · pl towar masowy (undifferentiated good) · ro marfă (anything movable traded) · sh dòbro (something useful) · lo ໂພຄະພັນ (anything movable traded) · de Billigware (undifferentiated good) · be праду́кт (anything movable traded)