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muleback

muleback

1 9.1
A ride on a mule's back to carry people or goods
  • noun
  • /ˈmjuːlˌbæk/
: muleback
  • Many tourists choose to explore the scenic trails on muleback.

Examples

  • In the past, people often delivered goods by muleback where roads were scarce.

  • Still on muleback, Kassianos followed.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • When I visited the Huichol Indians on muleback in 1938 and found a Huichol still with an internal receiver in operation in one settlement, I asked what they called the fermented material before distillation, and the answer was tuba.

    Academic text (1996)
  • She turns to me where I am standing shrunken into the old board of the bridge, and she shows me how long she has been there, loving deep in the black soil between the rocks, where Granny took her to bathe, at Oracabessa at the river mouth where they raced on muleback before there were hotels on the bright sands.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Traveling muleback through the mountains offers a unique view of the landscape.

Surface Forms

muleback singular
mulebacks plural

Morphology

muleback = mule + back (transparent) = mule + back

The noun denotes either the physical back of a mule or a ride on a mule, both transparently linked to 'mule' + 'back'.

Etymology

Muleback comes from mule + back, with back meaning 'the part you sit on' or 'the part that carries things'. So a muleback can mean the mule's back itself or the ride or journey you take while riding a mule.