Chapman
/ˈtʃæp.mən/noun
An old term for a merchant or traveling dealer.
Did you know?Chapman comes from Old English ceapmann, and ceap is the same ancient root behind modern words like cheap, chaffer, and even chapman’s older world of bargaining and trade.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*kaupaz
“barter, purchase, trade”
Old English
OE
ceap
“trade, purchase; later also price”
Old English
OE
ceapmann
“merchant, trader, pedlar”
Middle English
ME
chapman
“merchant, especially a traveling seller”
Modern English
English
chapman
“an archaic term for a merchant or dealer”