chapman

chapman — noun

1. a word used in the past for a person who travelled from one place to another, bu

1.名詞
釋義

a word used in the past for a person who travelled from one place to another, buying and selling household goods or small items.

例句

In medieval England, a chapman carried cloth, knives, and ribbons from village to village.

archaic historical term for itinerant dealer

At the town market, a chapman spread his goods on a cloth for buyers to see.

同義詞
  • peddler

    still used today although slightly old-fashioned; refers to someone selling small goods, often door-to-door

  • merchant

    fully current term; broader, covering anyone who trades goods, often from a fixed shop

用法筆記

This word is now archaic. Outside historical fiction or scholarly writing about medieval trade, it is no longer used in modern English. It survives mainly in surnames (e.g., the American folk hero Johnny Appleseed was born John Chapman).