tumpline

T1U1M3P3L1I1N1E1
/ˈtʌmplaɪn/

noun

A strap used to carry objects tied to its ends by placing the broadened or cushioned middle of the strap over the head just above the forehead.

Scrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nountumpline (plural tumplines)

plural tumplines · alternative tump line

  1. A strap used to carry objects tied to its ends by placing the broadened or cushioned middle of the strap over the head just above the forehead.

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

    1918, Rex Ellingwood Beach, chapter 2, in The Winds of Chance

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
metump

Origin

From tump + line, "tump" is an apheresis of mattump, metump, possibly from a Penobscot descendant of Proto-Algonquian *wetempi (“head”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

French mecapal
  • mecapalTranslations
Polish bawełniana lub skórzana opaska na czole
  • bawełniana lub skórzana opaska na czoleTranslations
Spanish mecapal, bambador
  • mecapalTranslations
  • bambadorTranslations

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

pilentum
Cite this entry
APA

tumpline. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tumpline

MLA

“tumpline.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tumpline. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tumpline,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tumpline.

Source: tumpline on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.