colporteur
Americannoun
plural
colporteurs-
a person who travels to sell or publicize Bibles, religious tracts, etc.
-
a peddler of books.
noun
Other Word 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
A few weeks later on I had occasion to be in the market-place, and I purchased another copy of the same colporteur, which I read with greater caution.
From Some Jewish Witnesses For Christ by B.D.
This colporteur has a keen, clean mind—any one can see that—and I like him for his childlike straightness of soul.
From Seeds of Pine by Canuck, Janey
A colporteur has been present with his wares, and succeeds in selling at a small price portions of the Scriptures and tracts.
From Life and Work in Benares and Kumaon, 1839-1877 by Kennedy, James
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.
