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Glite Dictionary
newsie

newsie

2 8.2
A person who sells newspapers on the street, often a child
  • noun
  • /ˈnuːzi/
  • Archaic
translation icon : vendedor de periódicos
  • As a newsie, he learned how to hustle and interact with people from all walks of life.

Examples

  • A young smudge-faced newsie runs up and peeks into the window of the lodging house.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • A newsie rally with all the kids from all over New York.

    Newsies (1992)

  • Maybe if we got every newsie in New York, but...

    Newsies (1992)

  • JACK: Well, maybe I got no future as a newsie.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Oh, what did being a newsie ever give me, but a dime a day and a few black eyes.

    Newsies (1992)

  • Very soon, newspapers will be delivered directly to the home, and the independent newsie will be history.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • That Spot Conlon is the most respected and famous newsie in all of New York.

    Newsies (1992)

  • Looking down, Seitz meets with Jack, David, Sarah, Les, Denton, Mayer, and other newsie leaders.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The young newsie shouted to passersby, trying to sell the latest papers on the street corner.

  • Every morning, the cheerful newsie would greet customers with a smile while selling newspapers.

Synonyms

newsboy
vsnewsie
  • Archaic
4 2.3

A boy who sells or delivers newspapers

is used more broadly for any young seller, not only males
newsvendor
vsnewsie
  • US
1 4.9

A person who sells newspapers on the street

is used for a young seller, especially a child, not any age
newsdealer
vsnewsie
  • US
4.5

A person who sells newspapers and sometimes magazines to people

is specifically about a street child seller rather than shop sales
curbstoner
vsnewsie
  • Archaic
9.9

A person who sells goods informally on the street without a shop

focuses specifically on selling newspapers, often by a child on the street

Surface Forms

newsie singular
newsies plural

Morphology

newsie = news (semi-transparent) = news + ie

The relation to 'news' is clear, but the informal diminutive/agentive suffix '-ie' and the specific sense 'newspaper seller' require cultural knowledge.

Etymology

Newsie comes from news ('the papers') plus the short, friendly ending -ie, which makes a simple name for a person, so it originally meant a young person who sold newspapers. That's why a newsie today is a street 'news seller', often a child.