parfleche

[ pahr-flesh, pahr-flesh ]

noun

a rawhide that has been dried after having been soaked in a solution of lye and water to remove the hair.
an article or object, as a case, pouch, etc., made of such rawhide.

Origin of parfleche

1820–30; <Canadian French parflèche, equivalent to French par(er) to parry (see para-²) + flèche arrow

Words Nearby parfleche

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use parfleche in a sentence

Then everybody began to sing hard, and four young men pounded with sticks on a parfleche, in time to the music.
When Buffalo Ran | George Bird Grinnell
Each night you must take it down, roll it up, and put it in a parfleche, so that it will not be torn or soiled.
The Magnificent Adventure | Emerson Hough
Meriwether Lewis pointed to a skin parfleche and a knotted bandanna handkerchief which George Shannon carried for him.
The Magnificent Adventure | Emerson Hough
From a long parfleche sack the Raven chief took a slender stick, beautifully ornamented with many-colored feathers.
Blackfeet Indian Stories | George Bird Grinnell
They built three great tepees, in one of which were stored rows upon rows of parfleche bags of dried meat.
Myths and Legends of the Sioux | Marie L. McLaughlin

British Dictionary definitions for parfleche

parfleche

/ (ˈpɑːflɛʃ) /

nounUS and Canadian

a sheet of rawhide that has been dried after soaking in lye and water to remove the hair
an object, such as a case, made of this

Origin of parfleche

C19: from Canadian French, from French parer to ward off, protect + flèche arrow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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