COMMODITY

commodity, trade good, good

(noun) articles of commerce

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

commodity (countable and uncountable, plural commodities)

Anything movable (a good) that is bought and sold. [from 15th c.]

Something useful or valuable. [from 15th c.]

(economics) Raw materials, agricultural and other primary products as objects of large-scale trading in specialized exchanges.

(marketing) Undifferentiated goods characterized by a low profit margin, as distinguished from branded products.

(Marxism) Anything which has both a use-value and an exchange-value.

(obsolete) Convenience; usefulness, suitability. [15th-19th c.]

(obsolete) Self-interest; personal convenience or advantage. [16th-19th c.]

Source: Wiktionary

Com*mod"i*ty, n.; pl. Commodities. Etym: [F. commodit, fr. L. commoditas. See Commode.]

1. Convenience; accommodation; profit; benefit; advantage; interest; commodiousness. [Obs.] Drawn by the commodity of a footpath. B. Jonson. Men may seek their own commodity, yet if this were done with injury to others, it was not to be suffered. Hooker.

2. That which affords convenience, advantage, or profit, especially in commerce, including everything movable that is bought and sold (except animals), -- goods, wares, merchandise, produce of land and manufactures, etc.

3. A parcel or quantity of goods. [Obs.] A commodity of brown paper and old ginger. Shak.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition