colportage

[ kol-pawr-tij, -pohr-; French kawl-pawr-tazh ]

noun

1. the work of a colporteur.

Word History and Origins

Origin of colportage¹

1840–50; < French, equivalent to colport ( er ) to hawk (literally, carry on the neck; col, port ⁵ ) + -age -age

Example Sentences

The lead in the reaction against rationalism since 1830 has been taken by the Société évangélique at Paris, which, aiming at the Protestantising of France, and using for this end Bible colportage, tract distribution, the sending out of evangelists, school instruction, etc., has developed an extraordinarily restless and successful activity.

From Project Gutenberg

By General Espinasse, who, after the Orsini attempt on the emperor's life in 1858, officiated for a long time as Minister of the Interior, the prefects were expressly instructed, to extend their espionage of the ill-affected press to the proceedings of the evangelical societies, and to prohibit the colportage of Protestant Bibles.

From Project Gutenberg

Whether it be trustworthy as a record of facts or not, The Bible in Spain has at least induced some whose whole interest was in tracts and colportage to read a piece of good literature, and has delighted with entertaining adventures others who looked for nothing better than an enlarged specimen of the tract kind.

From Project Gutenberg

This could be reached by boat from Cape Cod Bay and Scusset river, with some colportage overland between those two streams; so avoiding the dangerous peninsular circumnavigation, and marking the main course of the present Cape Cod Canal.

From Project Gutenberg

The new Irish Library will be offered to all who desire to welcome it, in New York and Melbourne and the continents to which they belong, as well as in Dublin and London; and we hope by an organised system of colportage to carry the books to many districts where there are no regular booksellers at present, or no market for Irish books.

From Project Gutenberg