travois
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travois
- /tɹəˈvɔɪ/
- /ˈtɹæˌvɔɪ/
- /trəvˈwɑː/
Rhymes with -ɔɪ, -ɑː
Where it comes from
PIE word
*tréyes
The noun is derived from Michif travawy (IPA⁽ᵏᵉʸ⁾: /tɹæˈvɔɪ/), from Canadian French travail (“travois”), from French travail, from Middle French travail, from Old French travail (“frame for restraining horses and cattle for medical treatment or shoeing”), from Late Latin tripālium (“torture device consisting of three stakes”), from Latin tripālis (“having, or propped up by, three pales or stakes”) (from tri- (prefix meaning ‘three’) + pālus (“pale, stake”)) + -ium (suffix forming nouns). Doublet of travel and travail.
The spelling travois and pronunciations /ˈtɹævwɑ(ː)/, /tɹævˈwɑ/ are probably influenced by French -ois (suffix forming adjectives relating to particular countries, regions, or cities, their associated inhabitant names, and the local languages or dialects).
The verb is derived from the noun.
noun travoises · travois · travail · travoise · travoy
- A frame, often consisting of two poles tied together at one end to form a V-shaped structure with the vertex attached to a dog, horse, etc., or held by a person and the other ends touching the ground, which was used by indigenous peoples (notably the Plains Aboriginals of North America) to drag loads over land. On the plains they will have horses dragging travoises, dogs with travoises, women and children loaded with impedimenta, […]
- A similar piece of equipment used to transport something by dragging; especially a stretcher dragged by a horse, mule, etc., used to transport an ill or injured person.
- A sled dragged by a horse or ox to transport logs, with one end of each log on the sled and the other end touching the ground.
verb travoises · travoising · travoised
- To transport (someone or something) by means of a travois. At White Sands, we found drag-marks made by the ends of wooden poles while excavating for fossil footprints. Sometimes these appear as just one trace, while at other times they occur as two parallel, equidistant traces. A pole or poles used in this fashion is called a travois. . . To help interpret
- To use a travois to transport a load.
Translations
Every language
noun frame used by indigenous peoples (notably the Plains Aboriginals of North America) to drag loads over land
| Español | travois |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 印第安雪橇 yìndì'ānxuěqiāo |
| Français | travois |
| Deutsch | Stangenschleife, Zuggeschir |
| Italiano | treggia |
| Русский | травуа́ travuá, волочня́ voločnjá, волочу́га voločúga, воло́ка volóka, волоку́ша volokúša |
Talk about this word "travois." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/travois. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. travois. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/travois "travois." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/travois.Cite this
@misc{travois_2026,
title = {travois},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/travois},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
