noun
- Archaic
- transportation of goods for trading
- trading over great distances; commerce
- buying and selling; barter; trade, sometimes, specif., of a wrong or illegal kind: traffic in drugs
- dealings, business, or intercourse (with someone)
- the movement or number of automobiles along a street, pedestrians along a sidewalk, ships using a port, etc.
- the automobiles, pedestrians, ships, etc. so moving
- the number of passengers, quantity of freight, etc. carried by a transportation company during a given period
- the volume of telegrams, calls, etc. transmitted by a communications company during a given period
- the number of potential customers entering a retail store during a given period
Origin:
Fr trafic < It traffico < trafficare, to trade < L trans, across +It ficcare, to thrust in, bring < VL *figicare, intens. for L figere: see finish
adjective
of or having to do with traffic: a traffic violation, traffic manager
intransitive verb trafficked, trafficking
- to carry on traffic, esp. illegal trade (in a commodity)
- to have traffic, trade, or dealings (with someone)