toboggan

Definition

A long sled without runners, with the front end curled upwards, which may be pulled across snow by a cord or used to coast down hills.

Etymology

The noun is attested since 1829, the verb since 1846. Both derive from French tabaganne, which derives from an Algonquian word, probably Mi'kmaq tepaqan or Abenaki dabôgan, influenced by similar words in other Eastern Canadian Algonquian languages. The sense of "hat" is recorded since 1929 and is short for toboggan cap (1928), a cap suitable for wearing while tobogganing.

Example Sentences

• "Toboggan has not yet found its Way into the dictionaries, and there are other ways of spelling it."
• "Nothing could be more exciting and exhilarating than a slide, on sleigh or toboggan, from the lofty summit of the ice-mound or cone down to its base."
• "The “toboggan” is a light flat sleigh, used by the Canadian aborigines to bring home over the snow the spoils of the hunt."

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