sumpter
/ˈsʌmptə/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.09 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A packhorse; a beast of burden.
Example Sentences
- "Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter / To this detested groom."
- "the ancient vse of somers and sumpter horsses is in maner vtterlie relinquished"
- "The Bishop of Orange was watching carefully as men stored his papers in a cart, the King's steward and Despenser's bottler were stalking about among the wagons and sumpter horses ensuring that all was packed, while clerks of the various departments of state were hurrying about, squeaking at men who looked as though they might drop a chest or misstore a box in the wrong wagon, and generally getting in the way of everyone else while making themselves thoroughly miserable at the same time."
- "You should have had a Sumpter , tho' 'thad cost me The laying on myself"
Etymology
From Middle English, from Old French sommetier (“pack-horse driver”), from Late Latin *sagmatarius, from Latin sagma, from Ancient Greek σάγμα (ságma, “pack-saddle”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, sommetier, *sagmatarius, sagma, σάγμα, sumpter
Usage
Inflected Forms
Phrases
sumpter horse
Sumpter in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
Frequently Paired Words
Sumpter in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)