Commodity Definition
commodity
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Middle English commoditee, from Anglo-Norman commoditee, from Latin commoditat, commoditas.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /kəˈmɑːdəti/, X-SAMPA: /k@"mA:d@ti/
Noun
commodity (plural commodities)
- (obsolete) Convenience; usefulness, suitability. [15th-19th c.]
- Anything movable (a good) that is bought and sold. [from 15th c.]
- 1995, James G. Carrier, Gifts and Commodities: Exchange and Western Capitalism Since 1700, p.122[1]
- If a key part of shopping is the conversion of anonymous commodities into possessions, shopping is a cultural as much as an economic activity.
- 2001, Rachel Pain, Introducing Social Geographies, p. 26 [2]
- In human geography "commodities" usually refers to goods and services which are bought and sold. The simplest commodities are those produced by the production system just before they are sold.
- 2005, William Leiss, Botterill, Jacki, Social Communication in Advertising: Consumption in the Mediated Marketplace, p.307 [3]
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- Referring to the work of Bourdieu, Zukin (2004,38) notes that shopping is much more than the purchase of commodities
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- 1995, James G. Carrier, Gifts and Commodities: Exchange and Western Capitalism Since 1700, p.122[1]
- Something useful or valuable. [from 15th c.]
- And Slade said: "It really makes me sad that football club chairmen and boards seem to have lost that most precious commodity - patience. "Sam's sacking at Newcastle had, I suppose, been on the cards for a while, but it is really ridiculous to fire a manager after such a short time. Somerset County Gazette on Jan. 14th, 2008.
- (obsolete) Self-interest; personal convenience or advantage. [16th-19th c.]
- 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.40:
- Shall we employ the intelligence Heaven hath bestowed upon us for our greatest good, to our ruine? repugning natures desseign and the universal order and vicissitude of things, which implieth that every man should use his instruments and meanes for his owne commoditie?
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, NYRB 2001, vol. 1 p. 321:
- they commonly respect their own ends, commodity is the steer of all their actions [...].
- 1603, John Florio, trans. Michel de Montaigne, Essays, I.40:
- (economics) Raw materials, agricultural and other primary products as objects of large-scale trading in specialized exchanges.
- The price of crude oil is determined in continuous trading between professional players in World's many commodities exchanges.
- (marketing) Undifferentiated goods characterized by a low profit margin, as distinguished from branded products.
- Although they were once in the forefront of consumer electronics, the calculators have become a mere commodity.
- (Marxism) Anything which has both a use-value and an exchange-value.
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The more specific meaning of the term commodity is applied to goods only. It is used to describe a class of goods for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. A commodity has full or partial fungibility; that is, the market treats it as equivalent or nearly so no matter who produces it. "From the taste of wheat it is not possible to tell who produced it, a Russian serf, a French peasant or an English capitalist." Petroleum and copper are examples of such commodities. The price of copper is universal, and fluctuates daily based on global supply and demand. Items such as stereo systems, on the other hand, have many aspects of product differentiation, such as the brand, the user interface, the perceived quality etc. And, the more valuable a stereo is perceived to be, the more it will cost.
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