coureur de bois

English - English

Definition of coureur de bois in English English dictionary

A fur trader operating in North America in the seventeenth or eighteenth century without permission from the French authorities

(French; "wood runner") French Canadian fur trader of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Most of the coureur de bois traded illicitly (i.e., without the license required by the Quebec government). They sold brandy to Indians, which created difficulties for the tribes with whom they traded. Though they defied the colonial authorities, they ultimately benefited them by exploring the frontier, developing the fur trade, and helping ally the Indians with the French and against the English (see French and Indian War)

a French Canadian trapper

Etymology

() French coureur des bois, literally “woods runner”.