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rug merchant

rug merchant

1 5.5
A person or shop that sells rugs like Persian carpets
  • noun
  • /rʌɡ ˈmɜːrʧənt/
translation icon : comerciante de alfombras
  • He started his career as a rug merchant, selling handmade rugs at local markets.

Examples

  • A second grouping was arranged in a loose orbit of ambulance, computer salesman, caviar van; then more space and half an orbit that included Gypsy jewelers, rockers, rug merchants, and the Zhiguli.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The rug merchant offered a wide selection of beautiful carpets from around the world.

  • Now I learn you are a rug merchant... selling the same rug to two customers.

  • A Persian rug merchant?

  • Yuri described how he'd picked Jason Papparis, a rug merchant, who was at risk for contracting anthrax from the merchandise he imported.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • Not that Yara was looking for love, so she may have missed it, though in Paris that wouldn't happen; she would have felt its dreamy heat. "The value of a thing is how much you will pay for it," one rug merchant tells Anshe, looking at the stitching on his woven leather shoes.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • As a rug merchant, she travels often to find the finest materials for her customers.

Synonyms

trader
vsrug merchant
279 2.1

A person or company that buys and sells things to make money

focuses sales on a single product line instead of diverse trading
seller
vsrug merchant
257 1.0

A person or company that offers goods for money

specializes in one product type as its main business activity
dealer
vsrug merchant
227 2.7

A person or business that buys and sells items like art and cars

limits business to one main product line rather than varied assets
merchant
vsrug merchant
203 2.1

A person or company that buys and sells goods, often in shops

operates mainly with a single product line rather than broad trade
merchandiser
vsrug merchant
3 4.5

A person or company that buys and sells goods in shops

centres business on one main product type rather than general retailing
tradesman
vsrug merchant
  • UK
1 3.7

A person who runs a shop that sells goods or services

specializes in one product line rather than running a general shop
retail merchant
vsrug merchant
2.8

A person or company that sells goods to people in small amounts for them to use

focuses mainly on one product line rather than selling many different goods
tradesperson
vsrug merchant
  • UK
3.5

A person who buys and sells goods in a shop or market

focuses on a single product range rather than general shop work
merchanter
vsrug merchant
  • Archaic
8.1

A person or company that buys, sells, and moves goods

concentrates trade on one type of product rather than general transport
merchant-venturer
vsrug merchant
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who trades goods with distant countries and takes big risks

focuses on steady local sales of a single product rather than risky ventures

Surface Forms

rug merchant singular
rug merchants plural

Morphology

rug + merchant

The compound 'rug merchant' is fully compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'rug' and 'merchant' can directly infer it denotes a person or business that sells rugs. This noun+noun/attributive construction is a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern (e.g., 'merchant of rugs' equivalents), so the meaning is immediately transparent from the constituents.

Etymology

Rug merchant is a simple name from market life: a merchant unrolling rugs in a busy market to show and sell them. That's why it means 'a person or business that sells rugs'.