Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Mercantile \Mer"can*tile\ (?; 277), a. [F. mercantile, It.
   mercantile, fr. L. mercans, -antis, p. pr. of mercari to
   traffic. See {Merchant}.]
   Of or pertaining to merchants, or the business of merchants;
   having to do with trade, or the buying and selling of
   commodities; commercial.

         The expedition of the Argonauts was partly mercantile,
         partly military.                         --Arbuthnot.

   {Mercantile agency}, an agency for procuring information of
      the standing and credit of merchants in different parts of
      the country, for the use of dealers who sell to them.

   {Mercantile marine}, the persons and vessels employed in
      commerce, taken collectively.

   {Mercantile paper}, the notes or acceptances given by
      merchants for goods bought, or received on consignment;
      drafts on merchants for goods sold or consigned.
      --McElrath.

   Syn: {Mercantile}, {Commercial}.

   Usage: Commercial is the wider term, being sometimes used to
          embrace mercantile. In their stricter use, commercial
          relates to the shipping, freighting, forwarding, and
          other business connected with the commerce of a
          country (whether external or internal), that is, the
          exchange of commodities; while mercantile applies to
          the sale of merchandise and goods when brought to
          market. As the two employments are to some extent
          intermingled, the two words are often interchanged.