emporium

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emporium¹

  • /ɛmˈpɔːɹ.i.əm/ UK
  • /ɪm-/ UK
  • /ɛmˈpoɹ.i.əm/ US
  • /ɪm-/ US
  • /ɛmˈpoː(ə)ɹ.i.əm/

Where it comes from

Borrowed from Latin emporium (“trading station; business district in a city; market town”), from Ancient Greek ἐμπόριον (empórion, “factory, trading station; market”), from ἔμπορος (émporos, “merchant, trader; traveller”) + -ιον (-ion, suffix forming nouns). ἔμπορος is derived from ἐμ- (em-) (variant of ἐν- (en-, “in; within”)) + πόρος (póros, “journey; passageway”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; to carry forth”)), modelled after ἐν πόρῳ (en pórōi, “at sea; en route”).

Sense 4 (“the brain”) alludes to the organ as the place where many nerves or nerve impulses meet.

Not related to English empire.

noun emporiums · emporia

  1. also, figuratively A city or region which is a major trading centre; also, a place within a city for commerce and trading; a marketplace. Venice a poore fiſhertowne, Paris, London, ſmall Cottages, in Cæſars time, now moſt noble Emporiums.
  2. also, figuratively A shop that offers a wide variety of goods for sale; a department store; (with a descriptive word) a shop specializing in particular goods. With a name like “The Wine and Spirits Emporium”, no wonder the prices are so high.
  3. historical A business set up to enable foreign traders to engage in commerce in a country; a factory (now the more common term). The advantages to be enjoyed, and laws conformed to by the men of war of either ſtate, the trade to be carried on in America, the catching of herrings or other fiſh, the ſettling of emporiums, &c. ſhall be adjuſted by a ſpecial treaty.
  4. broadly, obsolete The brain. Catalepſy is occaſioned by a Relaxation of the Fibers of the Emporium, which cannot receive the outward Impreſſions, whereby the Soul has its Senſations, and yet give a free Paſſage to the Animal Spirits into all the Parts, whither they may be conveyed independently upon the Will. The Relaxation of

Emporium²

proper noun

  1. A borough, the county seat of Cameron County, Pennsylvania, United States.

Translations

Every language

noun city or region which is a major trading centre

Españolemporio

noun place within a city for commerce and trading — see also marketplace

Portuguêsempório
Ελληνικάαγορά agorá, εμπορείο emporeío

noun shop that offers a wide variety of goods for sale

Españolemporio
Portuguêsempório
DeutschEmporion, Emporium
Italianoemporio
Ελληνικάεμπορείο emporeío, εμπορικό emporikó
Русскийунивермаг univermag

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MLA

"emporium." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/emporium. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

emporium. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/emporium

Chicago

"emporium." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/emporium.

BibTeX
@misc{emporium_2026,
  title = {emporium},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/emporium},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}