tumpline

American  

[tuhmp-lahyn] / ˈtʌmpˌlaɪn /

noun

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

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tumpline British  

/ ˈtʌmpˌlaɪn /

noun

1. Also called: tump.  (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

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Etymology

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) + line ¹

Example Sentences

DeJong is a big, burly, bearded Canadian, the kind of guy who wears wool plaid when it�s 90 degrees and still uses a tumpline.

From Time Magazine Archive

The speaker slipped his arms into his pack- harness and adjusted the tumpline to his forehead preparatory to rising.

From The Winds of Chance by Beach, Rex Ellingwood

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.

From Camp and Trail by White, Stewart Edward

Fred uttered a wild shout, slipped the tumpline from his head, and ran forward.

From Northern Diamonds by Pollock, Frank Lillie

Towline and pole, paddle and tumpline, rapids and portages—such tortures served to give the one a deep disgust for great hazards, and printed for the other a fiery text on the true romance of adventure.

From The Son of the Wolf by London, Jack