voyageur
English
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Canadian French voyageur.
Noun
voyageur (plural voyageurs)
- (historical) A trader, particularly in furs, who worked (and explored) in the area of Canada and the northern United States from the 16th to early 19th centuries; they were often of Quebecois extraction.
- 1847, George Frederick Augustus Ruxton, Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains, page 267:
- The powers of the Canadian voyageurs and hunters in the consumption of meat strike the greenhorn with wonder and astonishment; and are only equalled by the gastronomical capabilities exhibited by Indian dogs, both following the same plan in their epicurean gorgings.
French
Etymology
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /vwa.ja.ʒœʁ/
Audio: (file)
Noun
voyageur m (plural voyageurs, feminine voyageuse)
Adjective
voyageur (feminine voyageuse, masculine plural voyageurs, feminine plural voyageuses)
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Romanian: voiajor
Further reading
- “voyageur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.