Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who breeds, trains, or hunts with hawks: A "hawker" is someone involved in the sport of falconry, which involves using trained birds of prey (hawks, falcons) to hunt.
   • A person who sells goods informally in public places: A "hawker" is a vendor who travels around or sets up a temporary stall to sell merchandise, often on streets, at markets, or carnivals.

Usage and Examples

• Noun (Falconer):

  • The medieval hawker flew his bird at game across the open fields.
  • She apprenticed with an experienced hawker to learn the ancient art of falconry.

• Noun (Street Vendor):

  • The fruit hawker called out prices from his cart on the busy corner.
  • We bought souvenirs from a hawker at the carnival.

Advanced Usage and Notes

• The two meanings of "hawker" are distinct and come from different etymological roots. The "falconer" meaning is related to the bird "hawk." The "vendor" meaning is related to the verb "to hawk," meaning to offer goods for sale by calling out.
• In modern English, the "street vendor" meaning is significantly more common than the "falconer" meaning. When used without context, most listeners will assume it refers to a vendor.

Variants and Related Words

• To hawk (verb): To sell or offer goods for sale by calling out in public.
  • He hawked newspapers on the train platform.
• Hawking (noun): The act of selling goods in such a manner.
  • Street hawking is common in many cities.
• Falconer (noun): A more specific and common synonym for a "hawker" who hunts with birds of prey.

Synonyms

• For the vendor: street vendor, peddler, huckster, monger, costermonger.
• For the falconer: falconer.

Related Phrases

• Hawker centre: A term used in parts of Southeast Asia (like Singapore and Malaysia) for a food court with many individual vendor stalls.
  • We had lunch at a famous hawker centre.

Noun

1. a person who breeds and trains hawks and who follows the sport of falconry
2. someone who travels about selling his wares (as on the streets or at carnivals)