tumpline

[ tuhmp-lahyn ]
/ ˈtʌmpˌlaɪn /

noun

a strap or sling passed around the chest or forehead to help support a pack carried on a person's back.

Origin of tumpline

1790–1800; tump (earlier mattump, metomp < Southern New England Algonquian < proto-Eastern Algonquian *mat- empty root appearing in names of manufactured objects + *-a·pəy string) + line1

Words nearby tumpline

tumoricidal, tumorigenesis, tumorigenic, tumour, tump, tumpline, tumular, tumulose, tumulous, tumult, tumultuary

Example sentences from the Web for tumpline

  • This is known as a tumpline, and consists of a band of leather to cross the head, and two long thongs to secure the pack.

    Camp and Trail |Stewart Edward White

  • One night one of them ate a piece out of my tumpline, which was partially under my head, while I slept.

    The Long Labrador Trail |Dillon Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for tumpline

tumpline
/ (ˈtʌmpˌlaɪn) /

noun

(in the US and Canada, esp formerly) a leather or cloth band strung across the forehead or chest and attached to a pack or load in order to support it Also called: tump

Word Origin for tumpline

C19: from tump, of Algonquian origin + line 1; compare Abnaki mádǔmbi pack strap