# When did "merch" become a word? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082 "2017-03-13T12:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/1 "2017-03-13T12:33:38Z")
Maybe a year ago I was listening to a comedy podcast. At the end of the episode they mentioned their web page and urged listeners to check out the merch they had for sale. I remember listening to the sentence several times, assuming I misheard, or maybe “andise” was inadvertently edited out, but he definitely said “merch”. Since then I’ve heard it more and more. It’s used on the [Uhh Yeah Dude](http://www.uhhyeahdude.com/) podcast webpage, under “Categories”. So, anyone know when “merch” became a thing? (or has it always been, and I missed it) ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/2 "2017-03-13T12:54:46Z")
I just used Google Ngram. I found a use of “merch” to mean “merchandise” in issue 276 of _Maximum Rocknroll_. This came out in May of 2006. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/3 "2017-03-13T12:56:29Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I just used Google Ngram. I found a use of “merch” to mean “merchandise” in issue 276 of _Maximum Rocknroll_. This came out in May of 2006. So. I’m only a decade behind?🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/4 "2017-03-13T13:00:54Z")
I can date it to 2004: the phrase “Merch Money” was used on the album […Is a Real Boy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...Is_a_Real_Boy) by Say Anything. (On the song “Every Man Has a Molly”. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/5 "2017-03-13T13:04:14Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Maybe a year ago I was listening to a comedy podcast. At the end of the episode they mentioned their web page and urged listeners to check out the merch they had for sale. Well, on the off-chance that they were selling the fatty, vascular substance contained in the cavities of bones, then this isn’t a new coinage at all. “Merch” is an old word, meaning “marrow”, dating from the middle ages. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/6 "2017-03-13T13:16:55Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Well, on the off-chance that they were selling the fatty, vascular substance contained in the cavities of bones, then this isn’t a new coinage at all. “Merch” is an old word, meaning “marrow”, dating from the middle ages. 🙂 I’m chilled to the merch. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mithras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mithras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mithras)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/7 "2017-03-13T13:21:24Z")
It was commonly used by the late 90s. At shows, bands sold/sell shirts and CDs at their merch table. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/8 "2017-03-13T13:24:39Z")
Never heard it till now. (Data point.) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/9 "2017-03-13T14:22:50Z")
In the concert/tour business, it’s been around a long time. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/10 "2017-03-13T14:44:55Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > It was commonly used by the late 90s. At shows, bands sold/sell shirts and CDs at their merch table. Wow. We go to a lot of shows. I just texted my gf and asked her if she knew what the word “merch” meant. She replied that it was the table where bands sold their stuff. I feel like a moron. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/11 "2017-03-13T16:48:20Z")
When I worked in retail in the late 70’s “Move the merch” was a pretty common expression, particularly in reference to what sales and promotions were supposed to accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/12 "2017-03-13T16:58:06Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > When I worked in retail in the late 70’s “Move the merch” was a pretty common expression, particularly in reference to what sales and promotions were supposed to accomplish. Yeah, I’ve heard the term for a very long time, and I think primarily in retail. Seems inevitable that a long word like ‘merchandise’ would get shortened in an environment where it was frequently used. There must have been a point more recently where the term would get recognized in a less obvious content. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/13 "2017-03-14T06:37:20Z")
The movie spaceballs ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/14 "2017-03-14T07:06:14Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > I just used Google Ngram. I found a use of “merch” to mean “merchandise” in issue 276 of _Maximum Rocknroll_. This came out in May of 2006. If you look for written instances of it instead of spoken it goes back much further than that. It’s a logical abbreviation for the word. I don’t know when MDSE was established but I find uses of merch. as an abbreviation for merchandise going back to the early 1900s with a rudimentary search. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/15 "2017-03-14T08:20:07Z")
Wow! The stuff people track down here is just totes amazeballs! > [@kayaker](#): > > Wow. We go to a lot of shows. I just texted my gf and asked her if she knew what the word “merch” meant. She replied that it was the table where bands sold their stuff. I feel like a moron. Whatevs, dude. Obvs you need to get out more. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/16 "2017-03-14T11:46:43Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > Whatevs, dude. Obvs you need to get out more. Heh, I “get out” an awful lot, but more is better, so yeah. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/17 "2017-03-14T12:25:16Z")
I first noticed it when I started listening to comedy podcasts several years ago. I assumed it was insider jargon that was surfacing because of the way entertainers were now interacting more intimately with their broader audiences. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/18 "2017-03-14T18:51:13Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Never heard it till now. > > (Data point.) Me too. Admittedly I’ve never worked in retail or in sales. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2017, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/19 "2017-03-14T18:55:02Z")
> [@Mithras](#): > > It was commonly used by the late 90s. At shows, bands sold/sell shirts and CDs at their merch table. That’a where i know it from. I have friends in a semi-popular punk band that would use the word frequently. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082/20 "2017-03-15T00:47:57Z")
I’d never heard it before but today when someone asked me “what the sitch?” I said I was planning on going shopping because I needed some “merch” she just nodded but I could see she was thinking “whatevs” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-merch-become-a-word/782082.md?page=2)