Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Strips of rawhide, sinew, or gut used for sewing, lacing, or fastening.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A rawhide thong.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun North America Thong(s) of rawhide or sinew used as cord, lacing, or webbing, in the manufacture of snowshoes, braided straps and tumplines, fishing and harpoon lines, knit bags, etc.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Canadian French, of Algonquian origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Attested 1800–10. From Canadian French, from Mi'kmaq ápapíj ("cord, thread"), diminutive of ápapi, from Proto-Algonquian *aʔlapa·py, *aʔlapa·pyi, from *aʔlapy- (“net”) + *-a·py (“string”).

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Examples

  • He set some babiche to soak for mending his snowshoes.

    Cat and Mouse Ralph Williams

  • Relieved of the weight upon his shoulders, Clen had a fighting chance for his life, but it is doubtful if he would have won had it not been that the Indian, missing him at last, returned in the nick of time, and with the aid of a loop of _babiche_, succeeded in drawing him from the water.

    The Gold Girl 1921

  • 'Merican Joe arrived with the _babiche_ lines, and as the boy proceeded to uncoil and knot them together, he sent the Indian to the tent for some blankets.

    Connie Morgan in the Fur Country 1921

  • Far away in the timber a wolf howled, and Leloo's eyes at once assumed an expression of intense longing and he listened motionless until the sound died away, then with a glance at the _babiche_ thong that secured him, settled slowly to the robe and lay with his long pointed muzzle upon his outstretched forepaws, and his dull yellow eyes blinking lazily.

    Connie Morgan in the Fur Country 1921

  • When the blankets were secured with the _babiche_ line the Indian lifted the man to his shoulders, and struck out for the tent, as Connie hurried on ahead to build up the fire and prepare some food.

    Connie Morgan in the Fur Country 1921

  • Going to the sled, 'Merican Joe picked up a loop of _babiche_ line and threw it about Leloo's neck.

    Connie Morgan in the Fur Country 1921

  • Then MacNair bellowed a hoarse order, and the firing ceased, and the Indians bound the prisoners with thongs of _babiche_.

    The Gun-Brand 1921

  • Turning to 'Merican Joe, whose nerve had completely returned when he became convinced that the author of the strange yell was a man of flesh and blood, the boy ordered him post-haste to the tent to fetch the three coils of strong _babiche_ line that he had added to the outfit.

    Connie Morgan in the Fur Country 1921

  • A rabbit snare is made of fine babiche, sinew, cord, or wire, and the loop is hung over a rabbit runway just high enough to catch it round the neck.

    The Drama of the Forests Romance and Adventure Arthur Henry Howard Heming 1905

  • They make _mos-quil-moots_, or hunting bags, of plaited _babiche_, or deerskin thongs, for the use of the men.

    The Drama of the Forests Romance and Adventure Arthur Henry Howard Heming 1905

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