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tumbril - 2 dictionary results

tum⋅brel

  [tuhm-bruhl]
Use tumbril in a Sentence
–noun
1. one of the carts used during the French Revolution to convey victims to the guillotine.
2. a farmer's cart, esp. one for hauling manure, that can be tilted to discharge its load.
3. Obsolete. a two-wheeled covered cart accompanying artillery for carrying tools, ammunition, etc.
Also, tumbril.

Origin:
1275–1325; ME tumberell ducking stool < ML tumberellus < OF tumberel dump-cart, equiv. to tombe(r) to fall (see tumble ) + -rel -rel
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tum·brel or tum·bril   (tŭm'brəl)   
n.  
  1. A two-wheeled cart, especially a farmer's cart that can be tilted to dump a load.
  2. A crude cart used to carry condemned prisoners to their place of execution, as during the French Revolution.

[Middle English tumberell, from Old French tomberel, from tomber, to let fall, perhaps of Germanic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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