détoupillonner

An extremely rare, obsolete variant of détouper recorded mainly in 19th-century dictionaries like Littré — it described removing the tow or oakum packing that blocked an opening, the same narrow craft/sailing sense as détouper itself. No living speaker of French would recognize or use it today.

• Les artisans détoupillonnaient l'orifice avant de le sceller à nouveau. — Craftsmen used to clear the packing from the opening before sealing it again.
• Le texte ancien mentionne qu'il fallait détoupillonner le conduit obstrué. — The old text mentions that the blocked pipe had to be cleared of its packing.
• Ce mot n'apparaît plus que dans les dictionnaires historiques comme le Littré. — This word now appears only in historical dictionaries like the Littré.

This verb is effectively extinct outside dictionary entries — a modern speaker describing the same action would say déboucher or dégager, never détoupillonner, which would puzzle any native reader today.

Often confused with détouper.