voyageur

noun

: a man employed by a fur company to transport goods to and from remote stations especially in the Canadian Northwest

Examples of voyageur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Isle a la Cache Museum offers a glimpse at what life was like hundreds of years ago with Native American and French voyageur artifacts. Annie Alleman, chicagotribune.com, 9 July 2021 Pioneering Chicago muralist John Norton was commissioned to paint the original canvasses of a voyageur, steamboat captain, railroad surveyor and laborer. Shannon Prather, Star Tribune, 19 Aug. 2020 Thousand Island Paddling Trail, Ontario Emulate the French voyageurs of old on this 50-mile (80.47 km) kayak/canoe trail down the St. Lawrence River between Kingston and Brockville, Ontario. Joe Yogerst, National Geographic, 18 Apr. 2019 Learn how the French voyageurs and Potawatomi were connected, feel a beaver pelt, see canoes built of birch bark and walk inside a wigwam. Annie Alleman, chicagotribune.com, 13 May 2018 The voyageurs, manageurs du lard, and bourgeois that MacKenzie worked with had already discovered and mapped much of the continent by then. Porter Fox, Outside Online, 19 Apr. 2018 Drive another 20 minutes to Grand Portage National Monument to learn the history of the Grand Portage Band and join a free tour with a National Park Service ranger to learn about the fur traders, French voyageurs and Ojibwe Indians. Kelly Smith, chicagotribune.com, 15 Dec. 2017 The students paddled and portaged through the park, following the routes once traveled by aboriginals and French-Canadian voyageurs. Daily Southtown, 30 Aug. 2017 Phelan had learned the technique while hunting and fishing in the wilderness of Quebec, mirroring the journeys and challenges of the voyageurs. Pippa Biddle, The Atlantic, 18 Aug. 2017 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'voyageur.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Canadian French, from French, traveler, from voyager to travel, from voyage voyage, from Old French voiage, veiage

First Known Use

1793, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of voyageur was in 1793

Dictionary Entries Near voyageur

Cite this Entry

“Voyageur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/voyageur. Accessed 24 Sep. 2023.

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