Word.ws English Dictionary

sumpter

/ˈsʌmptə/

sumpter noun: the driver of a packhorse.

Noun

sumpter (plural sumpters)

  1. (historical) The driver of a packhorse.
    • Persuade me rather to be slave and sumpter / To this detested groom.c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  2. (historical) A packhorse; a beast of burden.
    • the ancient vse of somers and sumpter horsses is in maner vtterlie relinquished1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, →OCLC
    • 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...2008, Michael Jecks, The Prophecy of Death
  3. (obsolete) A pack; a burden.
    • You should have had a Sumpter , tho' 'thad cost me
      The laying on myself1626 February 13 (licensing date; Gregorian calendar), Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Noble Gentleman”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey...

Proper noun capitalized: Sumpter

Sumpter (countable and uncountable, plural Sumpters)

  1. A surname originating as an occupation.
  2. An unincorporated community in Bradley County, Arkansas.
  3. A township in Cumberland County, Illinois.
  4. A township in Wayne County, Michigan.
  5. A minor city in Baker County, Oregon.
  6. A ghost town in Trinity County, Texas.
  7. A town in Sauk County, Wisconsin.

sumpter meaning in Tamil and Bengali

sumpter in Tamil

பொதிவிலங்கு ஓட்டுபவன்

sumpter in Bengali

মালবাহী ঘোড়ার চালক, মালবাহী ঘোড়া, ভারবাহী পশু, বোঝা, ভার

Forms of sumpter

Noun
pluralsumpters
Proper noun
pluralSumpters

Origin of sumpter

From Middle English, from Old French sommetier (“pack-horse driver”), from Late Latin *sagmatarius, from Latin sagma, from Ancient Greek σάγμα (ságma, “pack-saddle”).

From Middle English sumpter (“carrier, or driver of pack animals”).

Words formed from sumpter

Phrases with sumpter

Questions about sumpter

What does sumpter mean?
Sumpter means the driver of a packhorse.
What is sumpter in Tamil?
Sumpter in Tamil is பொதிவிலங்கு ஓட்டுபவன். See Sumpter meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is sumpter?
Sumpter can be a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce sumpter?
Sumpter is pronounced /ˈsʌmptə/.
What is the plural of sumpter?
The plural of sumpter is sumpters.

Words near sumpter in the dictionary

  1. sumpman
  2. sumpmen
  3. sumps
  4. sumpsimus
  5. sumpsimuses
  6. sumpter
  7. sumpter horse
  8. sumpter horses
  9. sumpters
  10. sumptin
  11. sumptin'

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: sumpter (page history and authors); Sumpter (page history and authors); sumpter (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sumpter (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sumpter.wav.

Cite this entry: “sumpter.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sumpter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.