Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Merchantman \Mer"chant*man\, n.; pl. {Merchantmen}.
   1. A merchant. [Obs.] --Matt. xiii. 45.

   2. A trading vessel; a ship employed in the transportation of
      goods, as, distinguished from a man-of-war.

Source : WordNet®

merchantman
     n : a cargo ship; "they did much of their overseas trade in
         foreign bottoms" [syn: {bottom}, {freighter}, {merchant
         ship}]