peddler
nounUK /ˈpɛdlə/ · US /ˈpɛdlɚ/
Etymology 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”).
1
An itinerant seller of small goods.
2
A drug dealer.
- Here's a cure for all your troubles Here's an end to all distress It's the old dope peddler With his powdered happiness1953, Tom Lehrer, “The Old Dope Peddler”, in Songs by Tom Lehrer, Pantheon, published 1981, page 18:
3
Figuratively A fake-news disseminator; A conspiracy-theory propagator.
- Derived terms
- essence peddler, peddle, peddleress, peddler's fair, peddlery