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History vocabulary · Economic History

Guild

Meaning in history, with examples

/ɡɪld/nounCommon term

In history, guild means: An association of craftsmen or merchants in the same trade that set standards, controlled training and prices, and protected its members, especially in medieval and early modern towns.

In Turkish: lonca, esnaf teşkilatı

How it is used

Guild members rose from apprentice to journeyman to master. Historians study guild rules and how guilds lost power with industrialization. In Ottoman history the word is used for esnaf organisations and is linked with the Ahi tradition.

Example sentences

  1. The weavers' guild set strict rules on the quality of cloth.

  2. Ottoman guild leaders took part in setting official prices with the kadı.

Common collocations

  • craft guild
  • merchant guild
  • guild members
  • guild regulations
  • guild master
  • trade routeA regular path by land, river or sea along which merchants carried goods between regions, such as the Silk Road or the spice routes of the Indian Ocean.
  • mercantilismAn economic policy common in Europe from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century that tried to increase a state's wealth and power by exporting more than it imported and building up gold and silver.
  • social classA group of people in a society who share a similar economic position, such as wealth, occupation or education, and often similar status and opportunities.
  • urbanizationThe growth of towns and cities, and the movement of a growing share of the population from the countryside into urban areas.

More terms: Economic History

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