I. təˈbägən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Canadian French tobogan, tabagan, tabagane, of Algonquian origin; akin to Micmac tobâgun drag made of skin, Abnaki udâbâgân, Cree otâbânâsk
1. : a long flat-bottomed light sled made of thin boards curved up at one end with usually low handrails at the sides and used for coasting, traveling, or transportation on snow or ice
2.
a. : a slope or course of suitable steepness for use of a toboggan
minutes are lost whenever we have to climb such a toboggan — Michel Bouché
b. : a downward course (as of life or affairs) — used chiefly in the phrase on the toboggan
on the toboggan but still a long way from complete failure
c. : a sharp decline (as in value or price)
prices hit the toboggan
3. : a conveyor on which material moves down an incline under gravity
4. or toboggan cap : stocking cap
[s]toboggan.jpg[/s] [
toboggan 1
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II. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1. : to coast on a toboggan : slide rapidly on or as if on a toboggan
2. : to decline suddenly and sharply (as in value)
values tobogganed on the market
stocks may toboggan in response to foreign tensions