peddler

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Peddler

English

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

From Middle English pedlere, pedlare, pedeler, alteration of Middle English peddere (hawker, peddler), of uncertain origin. Compare Medieval Latin pedārius, from Latin pedāre (to furnish with feet; prop up).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

peddler (plural peddlers)

  1. An itinerant seller of small goods.
    Synonyms: hawker, (obsolete) chapman, huckster, monger, colporteur, solicitor
  2. A drug dealer.
    • 1953, Tom Lehrer, “The Old Dope Peddler”, in Songs by Tom Lehrer, Pantheon, published 1981, page 18:
      Here's a cure for all your troubles
      Here's an end to all distress
      It's the old dope peddler
      With his powdered happiness
  3. (figurative) A fake-news disseminator; A conspiracy-theory propagator.

Derived terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]