marketing
noun
Marketing — the traditional errand of shopping for provisions at a market
Definition
Shopping at a market; "does the weekly marketing at the supermarket"
In depth
Marketing, in this specific and somewhat dated sense, names the act of shopping at a market, particularly for fresh food and household provisions, distinct from the now far more dominant business sense of promoting and selling products. The word evokes an older rhythm of daily or weekly errands, before large supermarkets and online shopping reshaped how most households acquire their goods.
Origin
The word descends from 'market,' ultimately from Latin mercatus, trade or marketplace, related to merx, merchandise. Its older sense of the verb, simply meaning to shop at such a market, has been largely displaced in contemporary usage by the modern business sense, a striking example of how thoroughly a word's dominant meaning can shift within a relatively short span of linguistic history.
Usage examples
"She did the weekly marketing at the supermarket, much as her mother had once done at the open-air stalls downtown."
"Old letters often mention the daily marketing as a routine, unremarkable household task."
"In some regions, marketing still refers specifically to the traditional practice of shopping at a local outdoor market."
How to use it
This sense of marketing, simply shopping for provisions, is now considerably less common than the dominant business sense of advertising and promotion, and writers should rely on context, or use it deliberately in period or regional writing, to avoid confusion with the far more familiar meaning.
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