noun / verb

portage

PORT-ij/ˈpɔːrtɪdʒ/

The overland transport of a boat or its load between waterways.

We portage our canoe along a trail to the next lake.

Two hikers, one Black woman and one white man, carrying an inverted canoe along a forest path between two visible lakes.

Etymology

portageOld Frenchtax paid on entering a town

Portage is said to derive from a term for a town-entry tax, ultimately connected with carrying. In English, general transportation narrowed to carrying boats or goods overland between waterways.

In context

Timeline - World History Documentaries79:26

1,400 kg of supplies and one unwieldy canoe must be hauled up a mountain. [Music] It's what the French Canadians call a portage.

1608 - 1813: The Complex History Of Canada's Indigenous Nations And More

More examples

The portage between the two lakes takes about an hour.
A marked portage leads from the river to the lake.
They unload the canoe before portaging it around the rapids.

Forms

portage · portages · portaged · portaging

Similar words

carry: Means moving something while supporting it, not specifically between waterways.
haul: Emphasizes moving heavy loads, often by pulling or using vehicles.