Touters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of individuals who promote or endorse something, often using persuasive language or tactics
2. People who loudly proclaim or advertise products or services in a public setting
3. Those who are engaged in the act of boasting or bragging about something to attract attention or support

Etymology: "Touter" is the agent suffix "-er" attached to "tout," the verb meaning to advertise or solicit loudly. The suffix has a long history: it descends from Latin "-arius," which passed through Old French "-ier" and reached English via Middle English "-er," while the Old English "-ere" was the native form of the same ending. So the "-er" here is one of English's oldest tools for making agent nouns, carried over both from Old English and from French. The verb "tout" itself is the more surprising part of the story, since it did not start with commerce. Its earlier senses were to peer or spy out, and to look out for, which explains why a "tout" was once a lookout or informer. The sense of pushing goods or services by persistent pitching came later, and the touter is the person who does that pitching. A touter, then, is someone whose job is to keep watch on customers and then pounce on them.

Synonyms: promoters, advertisers, hucksters, vendors, salespeople

Antonyms: critics, opponents, detractors, disparagers, denouncers