tumpline
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈtʌmplaɪn/
- The old canoe included a tumpline that helped carry the supplies more comfortably over long distances.
Examples
-
Then he ducked into his tumpline, stood, and checked the balance of his load.
Fiction book (1992) -
Left Hand carried a heavy buffalo-hide pack suspended from a tumpline; he wore a bone-beaded jacket and long leggings from which most of the fringes had been cut for various repairs to his pack and the dog harnesses.
Fiction book (1992) -
Hoisting the basket onto her back, Aluta adjusts the bark tumpline across her forehead and follows the three other women heading down the trail that leads first to the river U'Komba and then to the road.
Academic text (1991) -
After adjusting the tumpline across her forehead, she felt the weight of the basket ease on her shoulders.
-
He fastened the tumpline securely to distribute the heavy load evenly while hiking up the steep trail.
How Supportive
Surface Forms
Etymology
Tumpline comes from a Native American word for the strap people placed across the forehead or over the head to move heavy loads. So a tumpline is the strap that helps 'carry' weight on the head or shoulders, which is why the word means that kind of carrying strap today.