medicine line

Questions

What does medicine line mean?

The Canada-United States border; the 49th parallel north: a circle of latitude that is 49° north of Earth's equator.

Where does medicine line come from?

First known attestation from 1880 where the term was described as being used "because no matter what [the Indians] have done [committed crimes] upon one side they feel perfectly secure after having arrived upon the other". A synonymous term which was attested earlier is medicine road from 1869 and ostensibly a calque of a Sioux term transcribed as "pejuta canku". Unrecorded use of the term or a similar one may date back more than a century earlier than the first attestation. See also medicine (“protective charm among the Native Americans”).

How to pronounce medicine line

1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “medicine line”.
2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “medicine line”.
4. Repeat and practice — Say “medicine line” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.