yoke1
/jəʊk
/noun
1A wooden crosspiece that is fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to the plough or cart that they are to pull.The god told him that he would meet a cow that had never borne the weight of a yoke or plough....
- The only noise was the snorting of oxen as they pulled against the yoke.
- The yoke was fastened to the pole with a complex of knots so thoroughly tangled that it was impossible to unravel.
Synonyms
harness, collar, coupling, tackle, tack, equipage
1.1Used to refer to something regarded as oppressive or restrictive: the yoke of imperialism...
- The yearning of the poor that the Independence of the country and the shedding of the yoke of an oppressive colonial past would bring wealth or at least a little more prosperity to them, still remain an unfulfilled dream.
- The worst abuses were officially abolished, but the yoke of oppression did return, and new laws depriving people of their freedom and their political rights were instituted.
- Artistic approach to the style has been undergoing modern transformation, emerging out from under the oppressive yoke of postmodernist theory.
Synonyms
tyranny, oppression, domination, hegemony, enslavement, slavery, servitude, subjugation, subjection, bondage, serfdom, vassalage;
bonds, chains, fetters, shackles
literary thrall, thraldom
bond, tie, link
1.2(In ancient Rome) an arch of three spears representing a yoke, under which a defeated army was made to march.Roman troops experienced the humiliation of having to walk like slaves under a yoke of spears after their defeat at the Caudine Forks.
1.3 (plural same or yokes) A pair of animals yoked together: a yoke of oxen
1.4 archaic The amount of land that one pair of oxen could plough in a day.
2A part of a garment that fits over the shoulders and to which the main part of the garment is attached: the pinafore fell amply from a short yoke...
- Experiment with this technique on shirt yokes and sleeve seams.
- It has the right yoke, waistband and pocket details.
- Foam usually isn't recommended for use on lightweight fabrics; however, it can be used in the yoke or neckline area of form-fitting garments.
3A frame fitting over the neck and shoulders of a person, used for carrying pails or baskets.Women in brightly coloured headscarves and short Russian army boots carried pails of milk on yokes around their shoulders....
- By day he was working in a limestone quarry, carrying buckets of stones on a yoke.
4The crossbar of a rudder.
4.1A bar of soft iron between the poles of an electromagnet.
5chiefly North American A control lever in an aircraft.We turn the control yoke just a little toward the wind and the aileron comes up a little....
- It still had sticks, rather than control yokes, and got most of its performance out of its light weight.
- The control yoke must be held fully rearward to maintain the stall.
verb [with object]
1Put a yoke on (a pair of animals); couple or attach with or to a yoke: a plough drawn by a camel and donkey yoked together...
- Oxen are yoked to the plough, donkeys carry the harvest from field to village, and cows and sheep trample the grain on the threshing floor.
- Because Cassius is yoked to him both in love and their deadly and momentous endeavour, he is a tragic hero too, powerless against the unbending resolve of Brutus to do what philosophy, not opportunity, dictates.
- The two cannot go together, and is akin to yoking a horse and a camel together.
Synonyms
harness, hitch, hitch up, couple, tether, fasten, attach, join, join up, team
1.1Cause (two people or things) to be joined in a close relationship: Hong Kong’s dollar has been yoked to America’s...
- True pastors will caution their beloved children in the gospel, not to be unequally yoked.
- Privatization is an economic tool inexorably yoked to politics.
- The second thing to consider is the very nature of the discipleship yoked upon God's people in Christ.
Origin
Old English geoc (noun), geocian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch juk, German Joch, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin jugum and Greek zugon, also by Latin jungere 'to join'.
Rhymes
yoke2
/jəʊk/noun Irish informal
A thing whose name one cannot recall, does not know, or does not wish to specify: how much did that yoke set you back?
Origin
Early 20th century: of unknown origin.