Definition of PAMPHLETEER

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Verb

Pamphlets, unbound printed publications with no covers or with paper covers, are published about all kinds of subjects, but our word pamphlet traces back to one particular document. It derives from the title of a short Latin love poem of the 12th century: Pamphilus, seu De Amore, which can be translated as "Pamphilus, or On Love." The name Pamphilus referred to a Greek god whose name means "loved by all." Following from this, the original pamphlets were short handwritten poems, tracts, or treatises, often consisting of several pages bound together. "Pamphleteer," which can be both a noun and a verb, combines "pamphlet" with the "-eer" suffix found in such words as "engineer" and "puppeteer."

Examples of pamphleteer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 When recounting the music of the Revolutionary period, Meacham and McGraw mostly make do with repurposed hymns; poets, and pamphleteers like Thomas Paine, held far greater sway than did songwriters. — Allison Stewart, chicagotribune.com, "Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw: How American music became both a reflection and an instrument of social change," 11 July 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Bernard Bailyn, the great historian of the pre-revolution politics of the U.S. colonies, showed through a deep reading of colonial pamphleteering that the early Americans were ardently resentful of distant, central authority. — Daniel Henninger, WSJ, "Trump Teaches Western Civ," 12 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pamphleteer.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

29 Oct 2019

Cite this Entry

“Pamphleteer.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pamphleteer. Accessed 10 December 2019.