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mercantilism
mercaptan
mercaptobenzthiazole
mercaptopurine
Mercator Projection
Merced
mercenary
mercer
mercerize
merchandise
merchandising
merchandize
merchant
merchant account
merchant bank
merchant card
merchant certificate authority
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mercerize
mer·cer·ize [ múrssə rz ] (past and past participle mer·cer·ized, present participle mer·cer·iz·ing, 3rd person present singular mer·cer·iz·es)


transitive verb 
Definition:
 
treat cotton with alkali: to treat cotton fabric or thread with an alkali to strengthen it and make it more lustrous and more receptive to dyes
[Mid-19th century. After John Mercer (1791-1866), British calico printer]

mer·cer·i·za·tion [ mùrssəri záysh'n ] noun
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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