comprador

American  

[kom-pruh-dawr] / ˌkɒm prəˈdɔr /

Or compradore

noun

1. (formerly in China) a local agent or factotum, as of a foreign business house.

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comprador British  

/ ˌkɒmprəˈdɔː /

noun

1. (formerly in China and some other Asian countries) a native agent of a foreign enterprise

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Etymology

Origin of comprador

First recorded in 1605–15; from Portuguese: literally, “buyer” from Latin comparātor, equivalent to comparā(re) “to furnish, provide, prepare” ( see com-, prepare) + -tor -tor

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

comprador

The exporters are missionaries and foreigners who make no effort to buy from the farmers, for the tradesman, or comprador, can get the nuts at a better figure than can the foreigners.

From Northern Nut Growers Association Report of the Proceedings at the Fourteenth Annual Meeting Washington D.C. September 26, 27 and 28 1923 by Northern Nut Growers Association

He then departed to the vestibule of the hotel, where he encountered the comprador.

From Held by Chinese Brigands by Herbert Strang

Having seen our effects disposed of, we set out for our quarters in the New City, attended by the Bengalese comprador who was to serve as guide and purveyor-general during our stay in the island.

From Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Vol. 12, No. 32, November, 1873 by Various

At the head of the whole household is the comprador, who is a kind of major-domo. 

From A Woman's Journey Round the World by Ida Pfeiffer

Sunday, March 18th.—At six o'clock this morning Mabelle and I went ashore with the steward and the comprador to the market.

From A Voyage in the 'Sunbeam' Our Home on the Ocean for Eleven Months by Annie Brassey

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