Etymograph

English

travois

Travois comes from French travail ‘work’, from Middle French travail ‘suffering’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- ‘to attach, fix’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-‘to attach, fix’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-slosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pākslosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpālus‘pale, stake’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripālis‘having, or propped up by, three pales or stakes’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtripālium‘torture device consisting of three stakes’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travail‘frame for restraining horses and cattle for medical treatment or shoeing’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘suffering’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘work’
  10. Canadian Frenchmodernsame form
  11. Michifmoderntravawy
  12. Englishearliest quotation 1892travois

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-‘to attach, fix’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*peh₂ǵ-slosreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*pākslosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpālus‘pale, stake’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtripālis‘having, or propped up by, three pales or stakes’
  6. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtripālium‘torture device consisting of three stakes’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400travail‘frame for restraining horses and cattle for medical treatment or shoeing’
  8. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form‘suffering’
  9. Frenchc. 1600–presentsame form‘work’
  10. Canadian Frenchmodernsame form
  11. Michifmoderntravawy
  12. Englishearliest quotation 1892travois

Earliest quotation: 1892, Julian Ralph, New York: “On the plains they will have horses dragging travoises,…”

The story

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). 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).

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- ‘to attach, fix’

page, propaganda, compact, peasant, pagan, propagate, pala, pectin, impinge, pagination, impactor, 28 more

through Latin pālus ‘pale, stake’

pole, pale, peel, palisade, 21 more

through Old French travail ‘frame for restraining horses and cattle for…’

travel, travail

Today it means

noun 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.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- / travois

Shirt and support for this word