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huckster

 - 3 dictionary results

huck⋅ster

  [huhk-ster]
Use huckster in a Sentence
–noun
1. a retailer of small articles, esp. a peddler of fruits and vegetables; hawker.
2. a person who employs showy methods to effect a sale, win votes, etc.: the crass methods of political hucksters.
3. a cheaply mercenary person.
4. Informal.
a. a persuasive and aggressive salesperson.
b. a person who works in the advertising industry, esp. one who prepares aggressive advertising for radio and television.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
5. to deal, as in small articles, or to make petty bargains: to huckster fresh corn; to huckster for a living.
6. to sell or promote in an aggressive and flashy manner.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME huccstere (perh. c. MD hokester), equiv. to hucc- haggle (c. dial. G hucken to huckster) + -stere -ster

Related forms:
huck⋅ster⋅ism, noun
huck⋅ster⋅ish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To huckster
huck·ster   (hŭk'stər)   
n.  

  1. One who sells wares or provisions in the street; a peddler or hawker.

  2. One who uses aggressive, showy, and sometimes devious methods to promote or sell a product.

  3. Informal One who writes advertising copy, especially for radio or television.

v.   huck·stered, huck·ster·ing, huck·sters

v.   tr.

  1. To sell; peddle.

  2. To promote or attempt to sell (a commercial product, for example) in an overaggressive or showy manner.

  3. To haggle over; deal in.

v.   intr.
To engage in haggling.

[Middle English, probably of Low German origin; akin to Middle Dutch hokester.]
huck'ster·ism n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

huckster 
c.1200, M.Du. hokester "peddler," from hoken "to peddle" (see hawk (v.)) + agent suffix -ster (which was fem. in Eng., but not in Low Ger.). Derogatory sense is 16c.; specific sense of "advertising salesman" is from 1946 novel by Frederick Wakeman.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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