colporteur
Americannoun
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a person who travels to sell or publicize Bibles, religious tracts, etc.
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a peddler of books.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of colporteur
1790–1800; < French, equivalent to colport ( er ) ( see colportage) + -eur -eur
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A colporteur was reading the parable of the Prodigal Son in a Paris cafe much frequented by North African workmen.
From Time Magazine Archive
And the colporteur helps Vincent find permanent lodging with a farming family in Wasmes, the community he's serving.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
"Call it what you please," said the Vermont colporteur.
From Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches by Harris, Joel Chandler
The colporteur refused to cancel the sale, and the man was sorely perplexed, reluctant to lose both his money and that for which the money was paid.
From Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877 by Kennedy, James
“I take but the proper price,” answered the colporteur, returning most of them to him.
From Count Ulrich of Lindburg A Tale of the Reformation in Germany by Kingston, William Henry Giles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
