How is the word "merc" pronounced and what does it mean?

December 17, 2004 11:21 AM

Pronunciation/Definition Filter: The "word" merc. (+)

When it's used in reference to cars, does it mean Mercedes, or Mercury, or both? And how is it pronounced, or is it just a written thing? If it refers to both, is it pronounced differently in each case, like to rhyme with hearse when referring to a German luxury car or to rhyme with clerk when referring to. . well, whatever a Mercury is, old American car, I think (do they still make them?)

And, just to totally confuse the issue, what if merc is being used to refer to mercenaries, as in some hardboiled books I've read, where they talk about a merc on a killing spree, or companies of mercs.

Which leads me to a whole other issue, how do you make it plural?

posted by mygothlaundry to writing & language (21 comments total)

For mercaneries, I've always seen it written "mercs," and heard it pronounced "murk."

I've never seen or heard the term used in reference to cars.
posted by jefgodesky at 11:28 AM on December 17, 2004

I've always heard it pronounced "merk" when referring to mercenaries, which doesn't really make sense to me.
posted by modofo at 11:29 AM on December 17, 2004

Based on the song Darlington Darling I assumed it was a mercedes, since the song is basically about how the narrator builds them but will never be able to afford one.
posted by duck at 11:30 AM on December 17, 2004

I'm pretty sure it only refers to Mercury. I've always herd it pronounced to rhyme with clerk. If it's being used to refer to mecenaries, it means that. And it's pronounced the same way. And, what's wrong with "mercs" as the plural? It also seems to be used to refer to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
posted by skynxnex at 11:30 AM on December 17, 2004

I've always heard it pronounced "merk" when referring to mercenaries, which doesn't really make sense to me.

Yeah, but "merks" sounds kind of badass, and something like "merses" would sound more foppy.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:38 AM on December 17, 2004

skynxnex: in the UK, merc = Mercedes, since we don't have Mercuries. And it's pronounced MURK. Not MERSE. Neither of which rhyme with clerk, which is pronounced CLARK.
posted by nylon at 11:49 AM on December 17, 2004

And Jaguar is pronounced Jag-you-are. But only by fops.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 12:15 PM on December 17, 2004

Wait. Clerk is pronounced clark? Oh, you wacky Brits.
posted by stopgap at 12:21 PM on December 17, 2004

No No No. Nylon is right. Merc rhymes with berk (whether a German car or not), and Jaguar is pronounced jag-yew-uh, of course.
posted by dash_slot- at 12:24 PM on December 17, 2004

In at least one short story by Raymond Carver, the term "merc" is used to refer to a Mercury and I would pronounce that "merk"
posted by drobot at 12:31 PM on December 17, 2004

wow. i havent heard anyone use the term since the muscle car decade, and then it meant mercury. (1960's west michigan). we old hippies tend toward the more accurate term "hired killer" instead of mercenary.
posted by quonsar at 12:37 PM on December 17, 2004

In the states, "Merc" refers to a Mercury. In the distant past, Mercs were expensive and on par with Caddilacs as american muscle/luxury cars.

In common american lexicon or sci-fi stories, Mercs are mercenaries. This came out of sci-fi and trickled down into society, I think.

Pronunciation in the states rhymes with "Clerk".
posted by SpecialK at 1:14 PM on December 17, 2004

I only know "merc" (pronounced "murk") as short for "Mercury"; never heard or saw the "mercenary" use, which seems weird to me, but that's because I haven't seen it.

Pronunciation in the states rhymes with "Clerk".

SpecialK, are you just trying to confuse the Brits?
posted by languagehat at 2:19 PM on December 17, 2004

I know merc as short for Mercury and pronounced to rhyme with clerk with the m a sort of drawn out mer. But I think us hotrod/muscle car types are losing this war. All the kids seem to have the misimpression merc=mercedes
posted by Mitheral at 3:04 PM on December 17, 2004

I'll pipe in and say that it's referring to Mercury, as everyone I know that owns a Mercedes calls it either a Mercedes or a Benz. Never by both though.
posted by FlamingBore at 3:06 PM on December 17, 2004

I think the first time I heard it (I'm 33) in reference to mercenaries was in Lethal Weapon II. I don't think it comes from science fiction. In fact, why wouldn't it come from reality?
posted by bingo at 3:31 PM on December 17, 2004

never heard or saw the "mercenary" use

Really? That's the only use I've ever seen...never heard the car ones.
posted by rushmc at 5:33 PM on December 17, 2004

To me, it's pronounced "murk", and it means Mercedes (or, as generally agreed, mercenary). The plural is mercs (pronounced "murks").

(we don't have mercury cars in Aus...)
posted by pompomtom at 7:34 PM on December 17, 2004

Merc rhymes with berk

Berkshire (the UK county) is however pronounced "Bark-shire" (take note, US visitors).
posted by carter at 10:04 PM on December 17, 2004

And a berk (rhymes with Merc) is a twit.
posted by carter at 10:09 PM on December 17, 2004

Berk is actually a lot ruder than that as it comes from rhyming slang - Berkeley Hunt = c*nt.

As a non-yank my experience of the word Merc (prn. Murk) is that is in common usage both for mercenary and Mercedes-Benz. Mercury has always been used in it's full sense in any instance I have heard it. As in "Blue Mercury Coupe*"

*Coupe being prn. "coop" which has always baffled me as I have always said "coop-ay".
posted by longbaugh at 9:44 AM on December 18, 2004