coureur de bois

[ koo-rœr duh bwah ]

noun

, French.

, plural cou·reurs de bois [koo-, r, œ, r, d, uh, , bwah].

1. a French or French-Indian trapper of North America, especially of Canada.

coureur de bois

/ kurœr də bwa /

noun

1. Canadian history a French Canadian woodsman or Métis who traded with Indians for furs

Word History and Origins

Origin of coureur de bois¹

Literally, “runner, hunter of (the) woods”

Word History and Origins

Origin of coureur de bois¹

Canadian French: trapper (literally: wood-runner)

Example Sentences

La Salle was a coureur de bois, most of this time, for he operated in a field far larger than that for which he had a license.

From Project Gutenberg

The matter will be discussed in the following chapter; meanwhile let us briefly note the further development of the coureur de bois question to the end of Frontenac's first administration.

From Project Gutenberg

It took the barbarous coureur de bois to see through the paint!

From Project Gutenberg

A French coureur de bois, whose tragic death forms the subject of one of the popular chansons of Quebec.

From Project Gutenberg

The statement made in a previous chapter that Rene d’Amours was unmarried and lived the life of a typical “coureur de bois” is incorrect.

From Project Gutenberg