/em pawr"ee euhm, -pohr"-/ , n. , pl. emporiums, emporia /-pawr"ee euh, -pohr"-/ .
1. a large retail store, esp. one selling a great variety of articles.
2. a place, town, or city of important commerce, esp. a principal center of trade: New York is one of the world's great emporiums.
[ 1580-90; empórion market, emporium, equiv. to émporos merchant, orig. traveler, passenger ( em- EM- 2 + póros passage, voyage; cf. en póroi on a voyage, en route) + -ion n. suffix of place ]
Syn. 1. market, marketplace, bazaar.