'silver-merchant' originates from English compound words 'silver' and 'merchant', where 'silver' meant the metal 'silver' and 'merchant' meant 'trader' or 'seller'.

'silver' comes from Old English 'seolfor' and has cognates in other Germanic languages; 'merchant' comes via Old French 'merchant' from late Latin 'mercatans/mercari'. The compound 'silver merchant' formed in Modern English by combining these two nouns to denote a trader in silver.

Initially, the elements referred simply to the material ('silver') and the role ('merchant'); combined, they came to mean specifically a trader who deals in silver and related items, a sense that has remained largely stable.