Commodity

The word commodity is a term with distinct meanings in business and in Marxian political economy. For the former, it is a largely homogenous product, whereas for the latter, it refers generically to wares offered for exchange.

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Linguistically, the word commodity came into use in English in the 15th century, being derived from the French word "commodit?" meaning "benefit, profit", similar in meaning to biens (goods). The Latin root meaning is commoditas, referring variously to the appropriate measure of something; a fitting state, time or condition; a good quality; efficaciousness or propriety; and advantage, or benefit. The German equivalent is die Ware, i.e. wares or goods offered for sale.

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Business: Business refers to at least three closely related commercial topics. The first is a commercial, professional or industrial organization or enterprise, generally referred to as "a business." The second is commercial, professional, and industrial activity generally, as in "business continues to evol...

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Political economy: Political economy was the original term for the study of production, the acts of buying and selling, and their relationships to laws, customs and government. It developed in 18th century as the study of the economies of states (also known as polities, hence the word "political" in "political economy...