commodity

Etymology

From Middle English commoditee, from Anglo-Norman commoditee, from Latin commoditās.

noun

1. Anything movable (a good) that is bought and sold.
   If a key part of shopping is the conversion of anonymous commodities into possessions, shopping is a cultural as much as an economic activity. 1995, James G. Carrier, Gifts and Commodities: Exchange and Western Capitalism Since 1700, page 122
   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. 2001, Rachel Pain, Introducing Social Geographies, page 26
   Referring to the work of Bourdieu, Zukin (2004,38) notes that shopping is much more than the purchase of commodities 2005, William Leiss, Botterill, Jacki, Social Communication in Advertising: Consumption in the Mediated Marketplace, p.307
   For mineral trains, he adds little other than pointing out the need to expand single-commodity trains and to end the use of mixed-commodity services that required extensive marshalling. March 8 2023, Gareth Dennis, “The Reshaping of things to come...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 48
2. Something useful or valuable.
   2008, Jan. 14th, Somerset County Gazette 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.
3. (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.
4. (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.
5. (Marxism) Anything which has both a use-value and an exchange-value.
6. (obsolete) Convenience; usefulness, suitability.
7. (obsolete) Self-interest; personal convenience or advantage.