https://www.dictionary.com/e/pop-culture/wet-market/"Pop Culture dictionary
wet market [ wet mahr-kit ]
What is a wet market?
A wet market is a market that sells perishable foods such as meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables. Wet markets can be found around the world, but are especially common in China and Southeast Asia.
A market, of course, is an open place or closed building where goods and products are sold. The wet in wet market refers to the melting ice used to preserve fresh meats or the water used to clean their foods or hose down a store. (Wet markets may also include a “dry” section, where various spices, grains, beans, and dried food items are sold.)
Wet market is a catch-all term for a store (or areas of stalls in a store) that sells foods that spoil or go bad. Wet markets, both the term and actual places, gained attention in 2020 after it was reported by Chinese health officials that the COVID-19 virus may have originated in a wet market in Wuhan, China."