primarily signifies a public place or market, whither merchants, &c. are obliged to bring their goods to be bought by the people; as the Greve, or the places along the Seine, for sale of wines and corn, at Paris, whither the merchants of other parts are obliged to bring those commodities.

Formerly, the merchants of England were obliged to carry their wool, cloth, lead, and other like staple commodities of this realm, in order to expose them by wholesale; and these staples were appointed to be constantly kept at York, Lincoln, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Norwich, Westminster, Canterbury, Chichester, Winchester, Exeter, and Bristol; in each whereof a public mart was appointed to be kept, and each of them had a court of the mayor of the staple, for deciding differences, held according to the law-merchant, in a summary way.