Learn English – Difference between “peddler,” “beggar” and “hawker”

differencesmeaning

I am studying Middle Eastern migration to Latin America at the end of the nineteenth century. One of the popular practices among these people was peddling, and there is much research on those who sell their goods on the streets. Yet, peddler is not the only word used for them. Hawker and beggar are also used by scholars. What is the difference between these words?

Best Answer

Beggar is obviously different from the other two in that he is not offering goods for sale, just begging.

From the definitions, both hawkers and peddlers travel about selling things, but in my mind a hawker is more of a person who calls out their goods for sale in a public place, while a peddler may be going door to door.