Whats a hawker?

Question:It says someone who could be my great great granddad was a hawker.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: It says someone who could be my great great granddad was a hawker.

Hawking has nothing to do with hawks - it's a word that means selling. In the olden days, there were two kinds of sellers - those who worked in a shop and those who worked on the streets. The lads who worked on the streets had to shout to attract the attention of passersby, and talk about the goods they were selling. Something like newsboys used to do a few generations ago, when they would stand on the corner and shout "Extra, extra, read all about it, etc.etc." Those newsboys were hawking their papers. And if your great great granddad was a hawker, he would have been selling something that could be sold from a cart, or a backpack - in other words, something smaller than chairs and tables.
Fun to learn about family, isn't it?
Have a great Christmas.

Peddler or street seller. Itinerant street dealer who carried his wares with him. Often used as a term of abuse.
http://rmhh.co.uk/occup/h.html
hope this helps.

You know the guy on the street corner with Rolex watches for sale inside the lining of his coat-that's a modern day hawker.
Interestingly enough we use the term 'hawk' now to mean 'to steal'.