hawker

1 of 2

noun (1)

hawk·​er ˈhȯ-kər 

: falconer

hawker

2 of 2

noun (2)

: one who hawks wares

The sidewalks are filled with hawkers selling vegetables and trinkets and women in blankets roasting cobs of corn on makeshift fires.

—Richard Stengal

Synonyms

Noun (2)

• huckster
• peddler
• pedlar

Examples of hawker in a Sentence

Noun (2)

street corner hawkers selling everything from fake designer purses to original works of art

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

No hawkers, no vendors, only two people stretching a Jesus banner halfway across the roadway. —Dana O'Neil, The Athletic, 26 July 2024

His father, a construction worker, and his mother, a hawker, had 11 children and could only afford to send Lee to school for six years. —Ram Anand, Fortune Asia, 9 Sep. 2024

After graduating from secondary school, Mackenzie worked as a street hawker in Mombasa, then drove a taxi in Malindi. —Alexis Okeowo, The New Yorker, 19 Aug. 2024

They were both placed on a 10-day remand for interrogation over the death of 24-year-old hawker Md. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English haueker, hawker, going back to Old English hafocere, from hafoc hawk entry 1 + -ere -er entry 2

Noun (2)

by folk etymology from Low German höker, from Middle Low German hōker, from hōken to squat, peddle — more at hunker

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1512, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hawker

1 of 2 noun

hawk·​er ˈhȯ-kər 

: falconer

hawker

2 of 2 noun

: a person who hawks wares

Etymology

Noun

Low German höker, from höken "to peddle"