מַרְכּוֹל (markhol) — supermarket

Etymology

The word מַרְכּוֹל is a clipping of the biblical hapax legomenon מַרְכֹּלֶת, which appears once in Ezekiel 27:24, in a passage describing the merchandise traded at the port of Tyre. The root ר-כ-ל means to trade or peddle; the same root yields רוֹכֵל (peddler, merchant), which appears multiple times in the Bible. Avinery also noted the apparent resemblance to the European word "market," speculating — perhaps fancifully — that the word may have reached European languages through ancient Phoenician traders.

Before מַרְכּוֹל, the Hebrew retail vocabulary centered on two words. מַכֹּלֶת (grocery store) derived from a biblical hapax in I Kings 5:25 meaning household provisions, and was adopted by 19th-century Haskalah writers for the neighborhood provision shop. The צַרְכָנִיָּה (cooperative consumer store) emerged from the socialist Histadrut labor federation in the 1930s. Both words described small, counter-service shops where the owner assembled goods for customers.

The American supermarket — a self-service store where customers select goods themselves — was pioneered by King Kullen in Queens, New York in August 1930. The word "supermarket" is first attested in August 1931. Israel's first supermarket, שופרסל, opened on August 28, 1958, at 79 Ben Yehuda Street in Tel Aviv amid violent protests by grocery owners; 3,000 shoppers visited on opening day. The borrowed word "supermarket" (often shortened informally to סוּפֶּר) then circulated for five years before an official Hebrew alternative was proposed.

In 1963 linguist Yitzhak Avinery proposed מַרְכּוֹל, calling it "short and fitting," a restoration of a word to its rightful owner. The Academy of the Hebrew Language granted official approval in 1979. This approval carries legal weight under the Supreme Institution for the Hebrew Language Law (1953); today Israeli legislation concerning supermarket opening hours on the Sabbath uses מַרְכּוֹלִים in its official text.

Key Quotes

"ל׳סופרמרקט׳ שענינו בית-מסחר גדול, כעין ׳כל-בו׳ מסחרי, הרני מציע את השם מרכול, שהוא קיצור השם מרכולת (ביחזקאל כ״ז, כ״ד), ושם עניינו – שוק, בדומה לשם הלועזי ׳מרקט׳." — יצחק אבינרי, 1963

"הֵמָּה רֹכְלַיִךְ בְּמַכְלֻלִים... בְּמַרְכֻלְתֵּךְ" — יחזקאל כ״ז, כ״ד

Timeline

• Biblical period: מַרְכֹּלֶת used in Ezekiel for the merchandise/trading place of Tyre
• 19th century: Haskalah writers adopt מַכֹּלֶת for the neighborhood grocery
• 1930: Histadrut founds המשביר; צַרְכָנִיּוֹת begin spreading across the country
• August 1930: King Kullen, the first supermarket, opens in Queens, New York
• August 1931: the term "supermarket" first attested in English
• 1956: Supersol partnership formed with local and American investors
• August 28, 1958: First Israeli supermarket (שופרסל) opens in Tel Aviv amid violent protests
• 1963: Yitzhak Avinery proposes מַרְכּוֹל in the Hebrew press
• 1979: Academy of the Hebrew Language officially approves מַרְכּוֹל

Related Words

• מַכֹּלֶת — grocery store (biblical word repurposed by Haskalah writers)
• מַרְכֹּלֶת — merchandise/trading place (Ezekiel; direct biblical source)
• רוֹכֵל — peddler, merchant (same root ר-כ-ל)
• צַרְכָנִיָּה — cooperative consumer store (socialist-era coinage)