Words to Your Mother: Colporteur

A colporteur (or colporter) is generally defined as a "peddler of religious literature", although I think the Dictionary.com Unabridged edition is a bit more accurate: "A person who travels to sell or publicize Bibles, religious tracts, etc." or "a peddler of books".  In other words:

1. They don't have to sell the books as long as the books are religious.  (That is, they can distribute the books in ways other than selling them.)
2. The publications they distribute don't have to be books, per se.
3. The books don't have to be religious as long as they are selling them.

Obviously, the first and third definitions are the opposite ends of the spectrum for this.

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