travois
tra·vois/tɹəˈvɔɪ/noun, verb
travois is spelled T-R-A-V-O-I-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables (tra·vois). It appears about once in every 50 million words in written English, the 220,118th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, travois means “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…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of travois is travoises.
How many letters and syllables are in travois?
| Letters | 7: T-R-A-V-O-I-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: tra·vois |
| In writing | about once in every 50 million words; the 220,118th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is travois?
Travois appears about once in every 50 million words in written English, the 220,118th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce travois?
- /tɹəˈvɔɪ/
- /ˈtɹæˌvɔɪ/
- /trəvˈwɑː/
Travois has 2 syllables, split tra·vois in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-travois.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of travois
- travoises plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- travail
- travoise
- travoy
- travoising participle, present
- travoised participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does travois mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USA 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.
- 2
A similar piece of equipment used to transport something by dragging; especially a stretcher dragged by a horse, mule, etc., used to transport an ill or injured person.
- 3
CanadaUSdatedA sled dragged by a horse or ox to transport logs, with one end of each log on the sled and the other end touching the ground.
verb
- 1
To transport (someone or something) by means of a travois.
- 2
rareTo use a travois to transport a load.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Travois in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense frame used by indigenous peoples (notably the Plains Aboriginals of North Americ:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | travois |
| German | Stangenschleife, Zuggeschir |
| Spanish | travois |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does travois come from?
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). Doublet of travel and travail.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).