Cordel literature is called so because of how the pamphlets are sold, hanging from strings (cordão), at fairs, markets, plazas and newsstands, mainly in the countryside towns and in the suburbs of the big cities. This name was given by intellectuals and it is what appears in some dictionaries.

Print carved in wood, creating popular illustrations. Widely used from the 19th century on the booklet covers of cordel literature (string literature).