towpath

nounC1Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #15,221 of 15,258leans written

Other forms: towpaths

A towpath is the path beside a canal where horses once pulled boats. Walk the towpath, cycle the towpath, along the towpath.

One horse could pull a barge carrying thirty tonnes, which is why canals mattered before railways. They are now walking and cycling routes, and in cities they are often the only flat traffic-free way across.

Definitions of towpath

1nountowpathThe path beside a canal where horses once pulled boats.C1
“We cycled along the towpath beside the canal, watching the narrowboats go by.”

towpath is a path.

Where it comes from

Tow plus path, from the horses that towed boats along it.

From tow + path.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in In the City

Practise this word

towpath in the wild

A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway.
Towpath
The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge.
Towpath
The canal is now maintained as the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park, with a trail that follows the old towpath.
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The towpath which runs alongside the River between Lisburn and Belfast is popular with walkers, runners, cyclists, dog owners etc.
Lagan Valley
As a cycle route the towpath forms part of National Cycle Route 9.
Lagan Valley

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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