商人 (shāng rén) 'merchant' joins 商 (shāng) and 人 (rén). 商 named the Shang dynasty and came to mean trade and commerce, partly because Shang people were remembered as great traders. 人 (rén) is a pictograph of a standing person. Together the compound means a person of trade, a merchant.

Origin

compound

Root

商 (shāng, trade/commerce) + 人 (rén, person)