Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A pack animal, such as a horse or mule.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A pack-horse driver.
- n. A pack-horse.
- n. By extension, a porter; a man that carries burdens.
- n. A pack; a burden.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. obsolete The driver of a pack horse.
- n. obsolete A pack; a burden.
- n. An animal, especially a horse, that carries packs or burdens; a baggage horse.
- adj. Carrying pack or burdens on the back
WordNet 3.0
- n. an animal (such as a mule or burro or horse) used to carry loads
Etymologies
- Old French sometier, from late Latin sagma, from Greek σαγμα ‘pack-saddle’. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, driver of a packhorse, from Old French sometier, from Vulgar Latin *saumatārius, from Late Latin sagma, sagmat-, packsaddle, from Greek, from sattein, to pack. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Etymology: French, from Middle French soumelier official charged with transportation of supplies, from Old French, pack animal driver, probably alteration of * sommerier, from somier pack animal, from Medieval Latin saugmarius, from Late Latin sagma packsaddle — more at sumpter”
“No, somewhat less, for by all accounts the sumpter horses and certain cattle were to go with them as part of Otir's fee.”
“It made some heavy loads for a number of sumpter horses which were likewise contributed as part of the ransom price.”
“He found, at this place of rendezvous, the men and horses appointed to compose the retinue, leading two sumpter mules already loaded with baggage, and holding three palfreys for the two Countesses and a faithful waiting woman, with a stately war horse for himself, whose steel plated saddle glanced in the pale moonlight.”
“Convent, the Kitchener and Refectioner, were just arrived with a sumpter-mule, loaded with provisions, announcing that the Lord Abbot, the”
“Some necessary change of raiment, and a very few pieces of gold, were all which he thought it needful to withdraw from the general stock; the rest of the baggage and money he left with the sumpter-horse, which he concluded his father might need, in order to sustain his character as an English trader.”
“One should have brought me hither seven sumpter loads of mead and mulled wine.”
“Forth they rode then through the frank and up on to the shepherd country, and whereas their horses were of the best, and they had no sumpter-beast with them till they came to Upham, where they must needs have victual, they made but five days of it to the place where the road turned aside from the country of Mostwyke.”
“Now they gather themselves together and go down toward Utterhay, and make a brave show, what with the sumpter-horses, and the goodly array of the four ladies, and the glittering war-gear of the men-at-arms; and Sir Hugh and Sir Arthur displayed their pennons as they went.”
“Withal she bought them three good horses and another sumpter-horse; which last was loaded with sundry wares that she deemed that she needed, and with victual.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘sumpter’.
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Gene Wolfe
Please contribute your favorite words from any of Gene Wolfe’s books to this prize-winning list.
In case you come across words in this list which are too commonplace to fit in, please ...gallipot, roost, badelaire, oblesque, execration, dhole, amschaspand, arctother, chalcedony, penitence, asimi, autarch and 839 more...
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horses
everything horses
horse, bay, bloodhorse, bloodstock, bolter, broncho, bronco, brumby, bucker, buckjumper, cob, cocktail and 200 more...
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phrontistery-s
from phrontistery.info
sabaton, sabbatarian, sabbulonarium, sabelline, sabin, sable, sabliere, sabot, sabretache, sabulous, saburration, saccade and 1593 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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ktrey's wordlist
Words that I like.
Many may be lexicographically impotent due to a lack of citations and definition. Hopefully I'll be able to rectify this eventually.velleity, dispositive, bloviate, bibulous, fungible, concupiscence, avuncular, carnaptious, thrawn, hypocoristic, diegesis, lagniappe and 928 more...
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Defunct professions
Economists like to cite "buggy whip maker" as an example of a profession whose career prospects were dimmed, and ultimately quenched, by the inexorable march of technological progress. This is a li...
buggy whip maker, guillemot egg col..., bog iron hunter, nettle string maker, fuller, purple maker, tanner, gut girl, reddleman, wont catcher, navvy, ratcatcher and 239 more...
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King Lear
Some less-than-common words, significant themes, or excellent phrases from my favourite play.
moiety, brazed, champain, felicitate, interess, propinquity, betwixt, sith, forevouch, wat'rish, benison, ingraff and 111 more...
Tweets
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