coureur de bois
[koo-rœr duh bwah]
- a French or French-Indian trapper of North America, especially of Canada.
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Origin of coureur de bois
literally, runner, hunter of (the) woods
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for coureur de bois
Historical Examples of coureur de bois
I want it at once—one with the long hair of a French-Canadian coureur-de-bois.
The World For Sale, CompleteGilbert Parker
Priest and seigneur, habitant and coureur-de-bois were one and all difficult to fit into accepted English ways.
The Canadian DominionOscar D. Skelton
I was prepared to encounter the other coureur-de-bois, and there he was, ferret-face peering and sniffing at us as we approached.
CardiganRobert W. Chambers
coureur de bois
- Canadian history a French Canadian woodsman or Métis who traded with Indians for furs
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Word Origin for coureur de bois
Canadian French: trapper (literally: wood-runner)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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