Etymograph

English

colporteur

Colporteur comes from French colporteur ‘peddler, hawker’, from Latin comportō ‘to carry, transport or convey’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-1uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂1uncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portā1‘gate’uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāō1‘to carry’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportō1‘to carry, bear’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomportō2as comporter‘to carry, transport or convey’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomportare2
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcolporter3‘to peddle’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentcolporteur4‘peddler, hawker’
  10. Englishtodaycolporteur4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin comporto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, French colporter
  3. 3 Wiktionary, French colporteur
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English colporteur

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*per-Wiktionary, Latin comportouncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*pr̥téh₂Wiktionary, Latin comportouncertain
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāWiktionary, Latin comporto‘gate’uncertain
  4. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*portāōWiktionary, Latin comporto‘to carry’uncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEportōWiktionary, Latin comporto‘to carry, bear’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomportōWiktionary, French colporteras comporter‘to carry, transport or convey’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcomportareWiktionary, French colporter
  8. Frenchc. 1600–presentcolporterWiktionary, French colporteur‘to peddle’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentcolporteurWiktionary, English colporteur‘peddler, hawker’
  10. EnglishtodaycolporteurWiktionary, English colporteur

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *per-

first, before, far, per, price, press, practice, private, further, fear, pre, primary, prime, prior, appreciate, prize, opportunity, pregnant, practical, afford, precious, praise, ford, privilege, parade, par, interpretation, forth, ferry, fare, pardon, primitive, pirate, prix, portable, pragmatic, privy, prism, proton, peril, 139 more

through Proto-Italic *portā ‘gate’

portal, porch, porta, portico, rapporteur, 18 more

through Proto-Italic *portāō ‘to carry’

sport, export, import, porter, rapport, deport, 13 more

through Latin portō ‘to carry, bear’

support, report, transport, importance, port, 17 more

through Latin comportare

comport, 1 more

Today it means

noun A peddler of publications, especially of religious books

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “colporteur”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin comporto, French colporter, French colporteur. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *per- / colporteur

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