| 释义 |
▪ I. yoke, n.1|jəʊk|
Forms: 1 ᵹeoc, ᵹioc, ioc, iuc, 2–3 ȝoc, 3 ȝeoc, ȝiok, (Orm.) ȝocc, 3–5 (6 Sc.) ȝok, 4 ȝook, 4–5 (6 Sc.) ȝokke, ȝoke, (6–7 Sc.) ȝock, 4–6 (8–9 dial.) yok, 4–7 (8–9 dial.) yock, 5 ȝokk, youk(k)e, 5–7 yocke, 6 youck, yowcke, yowg, yoike, (pl. yoixe?), Sc. ȝoik, (ȝoilk), 6–7 yoake, (7 yolke, oak), 6–8 yoak, (8 yolk), 4– yoke.
[Com. Teut. str. neuter: OE. ᵹeoc = OS. juc (MLG. juk, MDu. juc, joc, LG., Du. juk, jok), OHG. juh, joch, (MHG., G. joch), ON. ok (Sw. åka, Da. aag), Goth. juk, corresp. to L. jugum, Gr. ζυγόν, W. iau, OSl. igo, Skr. yugá-m:—Indo-eur. *jugóm.
The Indo-eur. series jeug-: joug-: jug- is represented also by OHG., MHG. giuh, jiuch yoke, ‘yoke’ of land (whence late OHG. jûhhart, MHG. jûchert, dial. G. jauchert, juchert), L. jūgerum measure of land, Gr. ζεῦγος yoke of beasts, couple; ON. eykr (:—Teut- *jaukiz), Skr. yógya beast of draught; Skr. yuj, Gr. ζευγνύναι, L. jungere, Lith. jungiù to yoke, couple, join, Skr. yóga union.
On the analogy of lock n.1 from OE. loc, the modern standard form would be yock, which survives in certain (chiefly north-midland) districts. Orthographic evidence for the lengthening of the stem vowel (which began first in the inflected forms) appears in the latter part of the 14th century.]
I.
1. a. A contrivance, used from ancient times, by which two animals, esp. oxen, are coupled together for drawing a plough or vehicle; usually consisting of a somewhat curved or hollowed piece of wood fitted with ‘bows’ or hoops at the ends which are passed round the animals’ necks, and having a ring or hook attached to the middle to which is fastened a chain or trace extending backward by which the plough or vehicle is drawn.
in the yoke: with the oxen yoked up.
c1050Ags. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 267/34 Iugum, iuc. Ibid. 313/37 Jugum, ᵹeoc. a1300Cursor M. 21288 Þe carter self is iesus crist, His bodi es yock [v.rr. ȝok, ȝock] he has stablist. c1325Gloss. W. de Bibbesw. in Wright Voc. 169 Les juges, the yokkes. a1340Hampole Psalter cxxxii. 3 A wylde beste in þe ȝoke. 1390Gower Conf. II. 131 Hou that an Oxe his yock hath bore For thing that scholde him noght availe. c1425Wyntoun Cron. i. xvi. 1615 He gert bestis vndyr ȝok [v.r. ȝoke] Thoil broddis sare and mony knok. 1523–34Fitzherb. Husb. §5 To lerne to make his yokes, oxe-bowes, stooles, and all maner of plough-geare. 1526Tindale Matt. xxi. 5 The foole off an asse vsed to the yooke. 1534in Weaver Wells Wills (1890) 6 Ye plow and all belongyn therto, cheyns, yowgs and such other. 1535Coverdale Job xxxix. 10 Canst thou bynde y⊇ yock aboute him in thy forowes? 1563Richmond Wills (Surtees) 169 Four yoikes for oxen. 1593Lanc. Wills (Chetham Soc. 1884) 121 Plowe harrowes Cheynes and Yockes to yt belonginge. 1599Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 263 In time the sauage Bull doth beare the yoake. 1642in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 232 Beasts that have bine used to the yooke. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 227 Let 'em..never know The taming Yoak, or draw the crooked Plough. 1728–46Thomson Spring 38 There, unrefusing, to the harness'd yoke They lend their shoulder and begin their toil. 1834Brit. Husb. I. 194 In England the custom is to attach the yoke round the neck by a hoop of alder, or of elm, fixed under it, which, passing through the yoke, is then fastened to the upper part with buttons, or pegs, upon the ends of the hoop, which is called a bow. 1846J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 107 It is a question, whether it is most advantageous to work oxen by the collar or harness single, or in double yoke. 1850R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. xii, We were in the yoke soon after daybreak. 1860Tennyson Tithonus 40 The wild team Which love thee, yearning for thy yoke. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. s.v., Yokes are required for bullock draught, and are used either for pole or trace.
b. A similar appliance anciently placed on the neck of a captive or conquered enemy; among the ancient Romans and others, a symbol of this consisting of two spears fixed upright in the ground with another on the top of them, under which vanquished enemies were compelled to pass.
a1000Ags. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 195/7 Boia, arcus, uel ᵹeoc. c1050Ibid. 336/38 Bogia, iuc oððe swurcops. 1549Compl. Scot. xii. 101 Ve sal put ȝour cragis in ane ȝoik to be ane perpetual takyn that ȝe ar vencust be vs. 1600Holland Livy iii. xxviii. 107 His..pleasure was, they should passe al under the yoke or gallowes. 1649Alcoran 151 They shall have Oaks [ed. 1734 collars] upon their necks. 1720Ozell tr. Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. ix. 93 Jugurtha grants the Romans Life and Liberty but upon Condition that they should pass under the Yoke. 1875Merivale Gen. Hist. Rome xxx. 209 His army was routed, and passed under the yoke.
c. A figure or representation of a yoke.
stone yoke, an ancient Mexican carving representing a yoke, supposed to have been placed on the necks of victims when sacrificed.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 8 b, Garmentes..travessed with cloth of gold, cut in Pomegranettes and yokes, strynged after the facion of Spaygne. 1688Holme Armoury iii. 335/2 He beareth Vert, a Yoke. 1899Smithsonian Rep. 41 A beautiful example of the stone yoke, or ceremonial collar.
2. A wooden frame or collar fitted on the neck of a hog or other animal, to prevent it from breaking through or leaping over a hedge, fence, etc.
1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 38 Strong yoke for a hog. 1669Worlidge Syst. Agric. 278 A Yoak,..an Instrument..to put on Swine or other unruly Creatures, to keep them from running through Hedges. 1886Cheshire Gloss. s.v., I have never seen a pig yoked, but yokes are still in common use for cattle and sheep; and I have, on one occasion at least, seen a number of hens all wearing yokes.
3. a. A frame fitted to the neck and shoulders of a person for carrying a pair of pails, baskets, etc.
c1618Moryson Itin. iv. iii. (1903) 383, I haue seene men..carry the milke in two payles fastned to a wooden yoke before them. c1700Kennett MS. Lansd. 1033, A yoak of milk, two pailes. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 155 Whenever to rest she her buckets set down, She jinkled her yokes to and fro. 1876Hardy Ethelberta i, The speaker, who had been carrying a pair of pails on a yoke, deposited them upon the edge of the pavement.
b. A part of a garment, made to fit the shoulders (or the hips), and supporting the depending parts, often of double thickness, of special material, or particularly ornamented.
1880Girl's Own Paper 20 Mar. 191/3 Make a new yoke and sleeves, and add a scarf to tie round the neck. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 527 Yokes.—These are headings, or shaped bands, into which plaitings or gatherings of garments are sewn, and which are so cut as to fit either the shoulders or the hips, and from which the rest of the bodice, nightdress, dressing gown, or the skirt is to depend. 1891Truth 10 Dec. 1240/2 The front [of a teagown] was all white satin,..with a yoke of gold and white embroidery. 1903Daily Chron. 24 Jan. 8/4 The hip-yoke is a plain piece, sometimes, however, covered with embroidery, that is moulded to the figure below the waist.
4. a. Applied to various objects resembling the yoke of a plough.
e.g. † a ridge of hill connecting two peaks (after L. jugum), an arched convex frame, timber, bar, etc. (see quots.).
1382Wyclif Isa. xxxvii. 24, I steȝede vp the heiȝtus of mounteynes, ȝokes [later vers. ȝockis] of Liban. 1489Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xxviii. 139 Leuers of yron youkes for brygges to make with. 1577Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 84 The Uine keeper must often goe about his Uines, and set vp his proppes, and make euen his yokes. 1864Webster, Yoke... A frame or convex piece by which a bell is hung for ringing it. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Yoke... A branching coupling-section, connecting two pipes with a single one, as the hot and cold water pipes with a single pipe for a shower-bath. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal M., Yokes, short sawn timbers placed across biats for steadying pump trees. 1888Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 242/1 The fidicula or lyre consisted of a resonant box, having a yoke (jugum or transtillum) instead of a neck. 1902Ibid. (ed. 10) XXVII. 584/1 The yoke, which joins the [magnet] limbs together and conducts the flux between them.
b. Naut. A board or bar fixed transversely to the head of the rudder, and having two cords or ropes (yoke-lines) attached for steering: see also quots. 1627, 1769.
a1625Nomencl. Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301). 1627Capt. J. Smith Sea. Gram. ix. 41 A yoke is when the Sea is so rough as that men cannot gouern the Helme with their hands, and then they sease a block to the Helme on each side at the end, and reeuing two fals thorow them like Gunners Tackles brings them to the ships side, and so some being at the one side of the Tackle, some at the other, they steare her with much more ease than they can with a single rope with a double Turne about the Helme. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Yoke, a name formerly given to the tiller, when communicating with two blocks or sheaves affixed to the inner end of the tiller. It is now applied to a small board or bar which crosses the upper end of a boat's rudder at right angles. 1792Jrnl. Ho. Comm. XLVII. 364/1 Those Ships that have no Roundhouse, their Rudders should run up, and steer with a Yoke abaft the Rudder Head. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxiii, The bowman had charge of the boat-hook and painter, and the coxswain of the rudder, yoke, and stern-sheets.
c. Electr. Engin. The part of a magnet or electromagnet that joins the poles or pole-pieces.
1884S. P. Thompson Dynamo-Electric Machinery vii. 145 One such iron mass..is attached solidly to each pole-piece, and the two are united at the top by a still heavier yoke of iron. 1924A. L. Cook Elements Electr. Engin. xi. 88 On the ring-shaped portion or yoke are inwardly projecting cores, which carry the exciting windings and have pole pieces, curved to fit the armature. 1951R. B. Dome Television Princ. ix. 230 Another problem, that of high-voltage surges across the yoke and tube during flyback, must be taken into account in designing the components. 1975D. G. Fink Electronics Engineers' Handbk. xi. 42 For PPI deflection one common arrangement is to have the single-axis yoke rotated physically by an external motor..driven by the radar antenna.
d. Aeronaut. = control column s.v. control n. 5.
1934in Webster. 1956W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 576/2 Yoke,..a control column, esp. a dual control column. 1971R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel ix. 151 Ed eased back on the yoke and made a slow, climbing turn. 1984Miami Herald 27 Mar. 2d/5 A co-pilot immediately pulled back on the yoke.
II.
5. a. transf. A pair of animals, esp. oxen, that are or may be coupled by a yoke.
In this sense the plural after a numeral is often yoke.
688–95Laws of Ine lx. (Liebermann) 116 Se ceorl se ðe hæfð oðres ᵹeoht [v.r. ᵹeoc] ahyrod..aᵹife ealle. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 195 Half hundre ȝiokes of ocsen. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 66, I haf ȝerned & ȝat ȝokkez of oxen. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xliv. (Lucy) 252 Fyfty ȝok of oxine. 1535Coverdale Job xlii. 12 A M. yock oxen [1539 Gt. Bible a M. youck of oxen]. 1551in Phillipps Wills (c 1830) 201, I wyll that Ihon my sun, and William my sun, shall have every of them..a yowcke of Oxyn. 1606Shuttleworths' Acc. (Chetham Soc.) 173 One yocke of draft oxen, viijli xiijs iiijd. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 18 A deep well whence they draw water, with a wheel turned round by a yoke of Bulls. 1778Eng. Gazetteer (ed. 2) s.v. Wergins, One of them required 9 yoke of oxen to draw it. 1879S. C. Bartlett Egypt to Pal. xix. 408 We..saw men plowing, sometimes with a camel, and oftener with a yoke of cattle.
†b. gen. A pair, couple. Obs.
c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. II. 224 Þe þridde ȝok þat Poul forfendiþ, is chiding and envie. c1380― Wks. (1880) 354 Þis first ȝock bigynniþ wiþ paciens. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 181 These that accuse him in his intent towards our wiues, are a yoake of his discarded men.
6. One-fourth of a suling, about 50 or 60 acres (cf. oxgang as 1/8 of a plough-land); hence, later, applied vaguely to small manors. (Cf. yoklet.) Kent.
837Kent. Charters 42 in Sweet O.E. Texts 450, xvi ᵹioc ærðelondes. c1050Ags. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 424/2 Iuger, iuc. 1653in Hasted Hist. Kent (1782) II. 525 [In the survey of Milton manor, taken anno 1653, there is mention made, as held of that manor, of the] yoke of Hamons atte Deane. [Note, Upon these hills, the smaller manors are frequently called yokes.] 1772Shrubsole & Denne Hist. Roch. 44 The originals..mention certain persons by name, with the number of yokes and acres belonging to them. 1886Archæol. Cant. XVI. 167 The yoke of Henwood or Hewitt..at the east end of the town [of Ashford] extended into Willesboro'.
7. A spell of work at the plough (cf. yoking vbl. n. 4). local (Kent).
1796Boys Agric. Kent 157 An acre a day is the common yoke for eight or ten oxen in wet, heavy, land, where four horses would plough an acre and a quarter. 1805Ibid. (ed. 2) 183 When two yokes are made in a day, which is the usual practice of East Kent, the time of going to work is at six o'clock in the morning, returning home at ten; and then going out again at one, and returning at six.
III. 8. fig. or in fig. phr.a. Denoting servitude, subjection, restraint, humiliation, oppression, etc.
c888ælfred Boeth. xix. §1 æala, ofermodan, hwi ᵹe wilniᵹen þæt ᵹe underlutan mid eowrum swiran þæt deaðlice ᵹeoc. c897― Gregory's Past. C. xxix. 200 ælc ðara þe sie under ðæm ᵹeoke hlafordsciepes. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xi. 29 Nimaþ min ᵹeoc ofer eow. c1200Vices & Virtues 71 Se ðe..Cristes ȝoc wile beren, and forlat al ðe woreld. c1200Ormin 4045 Þatt tanne shollde itt lesedd ben Fra dæþess ȝocc. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 228 What kynne seruauntis ben vnder ȝook of seruage deme þei here lordis worþ i alle manere honour or worschipe. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 357 He brouȝte alle þe kynges þat were nyh hym under his ȝok. c1449Pecock Repr. iv. i. 420 What euer seruauntis ben vndir ȝok, deeme thei her lordis worthi al honour. c1450J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert 90 Þe ȝok of all þis birden was leid in his nek. 1549Compl. Scot. iv. 31 Tyl al them that hes resauit the ȝoilk ande the confessione of crist. 1573Satir. Poems Reform. xli. 68 This day thy heid is in the ȝock. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. i. i. 69 He circumscribed with his Sword, And brought to yoke the Enemies of Rome. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 610/2 Having quite shaken of theyr yoke, and broken the bandes of theyre obedience. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 719 It [sc. a castle] became a most grievous yoke unto the neighbour Inhabitants. 1648J. Beaumont Psyche xi. xxxiv, Impudent Boldness! which can..make the Bond of Sweetness their pretence, To break all other yoaks. 1709Steele Tatler No. 36 ⁋1 Termagant Wives who make Wedlock a Yoke. 1756Burke Subl. & Beaut. Introd., In tying us down to the disagreeable yoke of our reason. 1837Howitt Rur. Life i. iv. (1862) 36 The weary yoke of business. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 400 The Restoration emancipated thousands of minds from a yoke which had become insupportable. 1879Dixon Windsor I. ii. 11 His province..had never yet submitted to the Norman yoke.
b. With various other implications, as of connexion, co-operation, labour, etc.; in reference to marriage, combining the ideas of union or co-operation and subjection or restraint.
1382Wyclif 2 Cor. vi. 14 Nyle ȝe lede ȝok [Vulg. jugum ducere] with vnfeithful men. a1400–50Wars Alex. 818* (Dubl. MS.), He..fair enformed þam of fight & fetez of armez For ȝapest in hys awne yoke ȝarly to drawe. c1403Clanvowe Cuckow & Night. 140 Myn entent is neither for to dye, Ne, whyl I live, in loves yok to draw. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3992 Ȝok of mariage. 1475Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 158 Tyll..þat youkke of wedlokke ly in my nekke as hyt dose now in yours. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 128 We haue byn ioyned togyther with the yoke of holy matrimonie. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. iv. 13 Companions..Whose soules doe beare an equal yoke of loue. 1645Fuller Good Th. in Bad T. 228 It is therefore some comfort that I draw in the same Yoak with my Neighbours. 1697Dryden æneis iv. 22 Were I not resolv'd against the Yoke Of hapless Marriage. 1847Tennyson Princess vi. 188 If thou needs must bear the yoke, I wish it Gentle as freedom. 1885Haggard K. Sol. Mines i, Well I had better come to the yoke [i.e. begin my task].
IV.
9. Comb., as (sense 1) yoke-bar, yoke-bow, yoke-gear, yoke-peg, yoke-pin, yoke-ring, yoke-work; yoke-weary adj.; (sense 3) yoke-shouldering adj.; (sense 3 b) yoke-back, yoke-bodice, yoke-collar, yoke front, yoke piece; yoke-arbor (see quot.); yoke-band (= Gr. ζυγόδεσµον), a band for fastening the yoke to the pole; † yoke-bone, the jugal or malar bone of the cheek, forming part of the zygomatic arch; † yoke-devils n. pl. (nonce-wd.), companion devils; yoke-elm, a name for the hornbeam, from the wood being used for yokes, and the leaves resembling those of the elm; yoke-horse (= Gr. ζύγιος ἵππος), a horse yoked to another; yoke-line Naut., each of the two cords or ropes attached to a yoke (sense 4 b) for steering; yoke-skey S. Africa = skey n.2; see also jukskei; yoke-steed = yoke-horse; yoke-stick, (a) = sense 1; (b) = sense 3; (c) a stick, or one of two crossed sticks, attached to an animal's neck (cf. sense 2); yoke-strap, -thong = yoke-band; yoke-toed a., having the toes joined together in pairs, as scansorial birds; zygodactylous; yoke-tree, † (a) = yoke-elm; (b) the body or main part of a yoke.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Yoke-arbor, a form of double journal-box for pulley-spindles, in which a curved branch extending from one bearing to the other on each side of the pulley serves to protect the belt from being chafed or otherwise injured.
1895Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 278/3 Men's Overshirts..Gathered *yoke back. 1981Country Life 22 Jan. 226/2 Mr. Tommy Nutter wears..a jacket of honey-toned Donegal tweed, yoke back, single-breasted.
1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 270/2 Subiugium lorum,..the yoke thong, or *yoke band. 1848Buckley Iliad 452 Then they brought out the yoke-band, nine cubits in length, along with the yoke.
1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 320 The *yoke-bars..are made of hard-wood.
1888Bow-Bells Weekly 4 May 286/3 A serviceable navy serge *yoke bodice, with belt.
1615Crooke Body of Man 755 The first paire of the vpper Lip..ariseth from the vtter seame of the Iugall or *yoke-bone. 1634T. Johnson tr. Parey's Chirurg. v. xi. (1678) 117 There is a cleft under the yoke-bone ascending into the orb of the eye.
c725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) Int. 185 Iungula, *ᵹeocboᵹa. 1587L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Oxen (1596) 73 If ye tie them as plow oxen be, with a sole and a with, which is made like a yoke bowe. 1891Meredith Horses of Achilles 15 Poet. Wks. (1912) 560 All their lustrous manes..Right side and left of the yoke-ring tossed, to the breadth of the yoke-bow.
1906Daily Chron. 5 Apr. 8/5 A *yoke collar of fine Irish lace.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. ii. 106 Treason, and murther, euer kept together, As two *yoake diuels sworne to eythers purpose.
1687Miège Gt. Fr. Dict. 11, *Yoke-elm, un Charme, sorte d'Arbre de bois dur. 1706London & Wise Retir'd Gard'ner I. 261 The Gard'ner who has a fence of Yoke-Elms. 1768T. Nugent Trav. Germany II. 89 A beech or elder, a yok-elm, an aspin and a crab. 1901S. K. Levett-Yeats Traitor's Way x, We had reined up under a huge yoke-elm.
1888Bow-Bells Weekly 4 May 286/3 Six chemises, made with pointed *yoke fronts.
1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 1181 The *yoke-geer of this cart.
1837B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Clouds i. i, Neither you, sir, nor your *yoke-horse,..shall eat my goods.
1849Cupples Green Hand xvi, The fat midshipman..watching me critically as I handled the *yokelines.
1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 269/1 Radius,..the yoke sticke: the yoke pin or *yoke peg.
1885Letts's Househ. Mag. 93/2 A *yoke piece of velveteen.
1819Rees Cycl. XXXIX. s.v. Yoking, The *yoke-ring and ox-chain. 1891[see yoke-bow].
1895K. Grahame Golden Age 42 The *yoke-shouldering village folk were wont to come to fill their clinking buckets.
1817G. Barker Diary 29 May (MS.), Made *yoke schegen. 1835A. Smith Diary 31 Mar. (1939) I. 338 The woman looked at her for a moment and then took up a yokeskey. 1850R. G. Cumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. ii, Passing through each end of the yoke, at distances of 18 inches from one another, are two parallel bars of tough wood about 18 inches in length; these are called yoke-skeys. In inspanning, the yoke is placed on the back of the neck of the ox, with one of these skeys on either side. 1934B. Buchanan Pioneer Days in Natal 31 The straight yoke was placed across their necks and secured by the throat strap attached to the wooden yokeskeys. 1948W. S. Chadwick Mother Africa hits Back i. 21 When transport riding in Barotseland I had two good but rather cheeky Zulu drivers. One night after an argument they threatened me with yoke-skeys and I got in the first blow.
1880L. Wallace Ben-Hur 208 They termed the two next the pole *yoke-steeds.
c725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) O 108 Obicula, *ᵹeocstecca. 1483Cath. Angl. 427/1 A ȝoke styke, fisticulus. 1614R. Tailor Hog hath lost Pearl Prol., Ovr long time rumor'd Hogge..is at length got loose, Leauing his seruile yoake-sticke to the goose. 1684[Meriton] Yorksh. Dial. 100 (E.D.S. No. 76), Yoakes and Bowes and Gad and Yoak-sticks. 1855Robinson Whitby Gloss., Yoke-stick, the wooden shoulder-bar for carrying the milk pails by suspension... ‘As crooked as a yoke-stick,’ deformed. Also the wooden horseshoe-shaped collar with which oxen are yoked.
1837B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Knights ii. iii, May I die,..And be cut into *yoke-straps and traces. 1585*Yoke-thong [see yoke-band]. 1835*Yoke-toed [see zygodactylic]. 1872Coues N. Amer. Birds 199 The parrots..are yoke-toed.
1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 149 Carpinus,..a kind of tree, called in olde time the *yoke tree, the wood whereof was easie to be cleft. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 322 The draught-chains, hooked to the lever, and passed under the pulleys of the yoke-trees.
1910Kipling Rewards & Fairies 219 And a wet *yoke-weary bullock Pushed in through the open door.
1890Crawfurd Round Cal. in Portugal 32 One may see oxen and even cows—for they too do their share of *yoke-work—harnessed to the net.
▪ II. yoke, n.2 Anglo-Irish.|jəʊk|
[Origin unknown.]
A thing; a thingummy.
1910P. W. Joyce English as we speak it in Ireland xiii. 352 Yoke; any article, contrivance, or apparatus, for use in some work. ‘That's a quare yoke Bill,’ says a countryman when he first saw a motor car. 1958N. Fitzgerald Student Body v. 69 Don stooped to pick up the gun... ‘Where's the safety-catch on these yokes?’ 1979K. Dowling Interface: Ireland i. iii. 26 This fecking yoke is maggots up to here!
▪ III. yoke, v.|jəʊk|
Forms: see yoke n.1; also 1 pa. pple. ᵹeiukod, 3 pa. tense ȝeokede, ȝogede, 4 oak, pa. pple. y-ȝoket, y-yokyd, Sc. ȝakkit, 5 pa. pple. ȝeokyn, 6 Sc. ȝolk, pa. pple. iooked.
[OE. ᵹeocian, f. ᵹeoc yoke n.1]
1. trans. To put a yoke on (a pair of draught-animals, etc.); to couple with a yoke. Also with up (? Colonial).
a1000Colloq. ælfric in Wr.-Wülcker 90 Iunctis bobus, ᵹeiukodan oxan. c1000ælfric Gram. (Z.) 174 Iungo, ic iuciᵹe [v.r. ᵹeociᵹe]. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iii. 251 Steeris well y-yokyd. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxvi. 269 For o Griffoun there wil bere, fleynge to his Nest, a gret Hors or 2 Oxen ȝoked to gidere, as thei gon at the Plowghe. c1400Destr. Troy 902 Ȝyuerly the ȝepe knight ȝokit hom belyue, Pight hom into ploghe. c1440Promp. Parv. 539/1 Ȝokke beestys (S. ȝok, P. ȝockyn, W. yoken). 1530Palsgr. 786/2 Yoke the oxen, for I wyll go to the plough this mornyng. 1641J. Jackson True Evang. T. iii. 166 It was cautioned in the Law not to yoake an Oxe, and an Asse together. 1724Swift Drapier's Lett. Wks. 1755 V. ii. 100, I shall..learn to consider my driver, the road I am in, and with whom I am yoked. 1775Ann. Reg., Chron. 98/2 The prisoners were all secured and yoked. 1859H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xviii, A bullock-driver yoking-up his beast. 1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abr. xi, A peasant's cart,..drawn by a small cow and a smaller donkey yoked together.
2. a. To attach (a draught-animal) to a plough or vehicle (orig. with a yoke); to ‘put in’, ‘put to’.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints iv. (Jacobus) 329, 332 Scho had bulis wilde and tate, Þat scho nocht trewit mycht ȝakkit be In carte,..And, gyf It hapnyt þat þai Var ȝokit, suld ryne away. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. lxiii[i]. (Bodl. MS.), A ȝonge cowe þat is able to be ȝoked [ed. 1495 yockid] to drawe at plowȝ. c1420Prose Life Alex. 78 We tille na lande,..ne ȝokes noþer ox ne horse in plughe ne in carte. c1450Mirk's Festial 211 Þe bulles mekely stodyn styll, tyll þay had ȝeokyn ham yn þe wayne. 1535Coverdale 1 Sam. vi. 7 Take two mylke kyne,..and yocke them to y⊇ cart. 1650J. Nicoll Diary (Bann. Club) 12 The hangman rydand on ane hors befoir him yockit in that cairt. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 69 Produce the Plough, and yoke the sturdy Steer. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) III. 199 Lions have been yoked to the chariots of conquerors. 1856Kane Arctic Expl. I. xvii. 210 They yoked in their dogs in less than two minutes. 1871C. Gibbon For Lack of Gold xvii, Four fresh horses which had been ‘yoked’ at Abbotskirk. 1882‘Ouida’ Maremma ii, Twice a year regularly she yoked her mule to her cart and drove into Grosseto.
b. with the plough or vehicle as object.
a1568Wyfe of Auchtermuchty i. (Bann. MS.) He yokkit his plwch vpoun the plane. 1635Reg. Privy Council Scot. Ser. ii. VI. 37 He yocked the cairt wherein Cokstouns chartour kist wes caried away. 1638A. Henderson Serm., Ps. cxxix. 3 (1867) 276 Without his license the pleugh can⁓not be yoked. 1697Dryden æneis xii. 433 These on their Horses vault, those yoke the Car. a1774Fergusson Hame Content 62 The chaise is yokit in a trice. 1869Gibbon Robin Gray xxii, He said he would ‘yoke the cart’. 1871Ellis Catullus lv. 18 Rhesus' chariot yok'd to snowy coursers.
c. gen. To attach, put on or in (as a yoke).
c1848Keegan Leg. & Poems (1907) 470 The Scotchman..‘yoked on’ his war-pipes, and the..rafters..rang..with the martial strains of the Highland Pibroch. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxiv. (1856) 196 By the time I had yoked my neck in its serape.
3. To fasten a yoke round the neck of (a hog or other animal): see yoke n.1 2.
1530Palsgr. 786/2 You muste yoke your hogge, for he ronneth thorowe every hedge. 1607in Eng. Gilds (1870) 442 That all thinhabitants of this lordship yoke or ring their swine sufficiently. 1657J. Watts Scribe, Pharisee, etc. Ep. Rdr. c j b, So yoking and ringling the wild Boars amongst them..that they may not break through the hedges, or down the walls of the vineyard of the Lord. 1708in Hist. Anc. Chapel Stretford (Chetham Soc.) II. 84 Wm. Moss for not yoaking and ringing his swine, 2s. 1840Colquitt in Congr. Globe Jan., App. 145/2 If they think it..a duty..to yoke the geese to keep them from going in washing in violation of the Sabbath. 1886[see yoke n.1 2].
4. To suspend (a bell) on a yoke (see yoke n.1 4, quot. 1864).
1701in W. S. Banks Walks Yorksh., Wakefield etc. (1871) 44 John Hinchliff for yoaking ye bell 2 18 6.
5. Mining. To mark out (a claim) with ‘yokings’ (see yoking vbl. n. 6).
1556in Pettus Fodinæ Reg. (1670) 96 All Grounds, as Crosses and Holes that be not stowed nor yoked lawfully. 1664[see stowce].
6. trans. To bring into or hold in subjection or servitude; to subjugate, oppress. Now rare or Obs.
c1325Old Age iii. in E.E.P. (1862) 149 Y-ȝoket ic am of ȝore wiþ last an luþer lore. a1529Skelton Col. Cloute 325 The pore people they yoke With sommons and citacyons. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 300 b, Vntill thei wer yoked by the thirtie tyrannes, and afterwarde conquered and subdued by Philippus. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 185 With traditiounis of men we haif thame ȝockit. 1592Kyd Sol. & Pers. iv. i, All Rhodes is yoakt, and stoopes to Soliman. 1605Camden Rem. (1637) 29 The Normans, who..would have yoaked the English under their tongue, as they did under their command. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. lvii. (1739) 106 He was fain to yoke his lawless will under the grand Charter. 1667Milton P.L. x. 307 Xerxes, the Libertie of Greece to yoke. 1671― Samson 410 But foul effeminacy held me yok't Her Bond-slave. 1781Cowper Table T. 258 As well be yok'd by despotism's hand, As dwell at large in Britain's charter'd land.
7. fig.
a. To join, link, couple, connect, associate; † occas. to embrace.
c1205Lay. 1872 Heo ȝeokeden [c 1275 ȝogede] heora earmes & ȝarweden heom seoluan. a1400Prymer (1891) 111 Oak nouȝt me to gydere with synneres. 1490Caxton Eneydos xxiv. 89 Whiles that the sterres ben in theyr courses well yocked. a1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 220 [He] with a ȝoldin ȝerd, dois ȝolk me in armys. 1561Winȝet Bk. Questions §53 Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 110 The matrimonie to be dissoluit, and the twa harlotis to be ȝokit vp in a prætendit band of matrimonie. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 319 The Earle of Angus and the Earle of Glencairneis was ȝokit togither. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 419 Oh then,..my Name Be yoak'd with his, that did betray the Best. 1612T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 16 Let euery of vs be carefull to approoue our sinceritie to God..by yoking answerable practise to our profession. 1614Raleigh Hist. World i. viii. 171 The two Riuers (as it were) yoked together goe along it. 1638Farley Moral Embl. x, Foure Elements in this my body are All yockt in one. 1818Scott Rob Roy xiv, Sae mony royal boroughs yoked on end to end, like ropes of ingans. 1865J. G. Holland Plain Talks ii. 67 Ambition, when yoked with genius. 1867Duke of Argyll Reign of Law ii. 103 It often happens that some common law is yoked to extraordinary conditions. 1879Froude Cæsar xxiv. 420 Cato was one of those better natured men whom revolution yokes so often with base companionship.
b. With reference to marriage: only in pa. pple.
1604Shakes. Oth. iv. i. 67 Thinke euery bearded fellow that's but yoak'd May draw with you. 1632Sanderson Serm. 364 He that is yoaked with a wife must not put her away. 1712Steele Spect. No. 455 ⁋3, I have the Honour to be yok'd to a young Lady. 1847Tennyson Princess vii. 340 My bride, My wife, my life. O we will walk this world, Yoked in all exercise of noble end.
c. To join or couple the ridges in ploughing.
1812Souter Agric. Banff App. 82 We are directed to yoke awal and bear-root, that is to plow the ridges by pairs. Ibid., We must take care not to yoke twice one way, other⁓wise it will impoverish the one half, and thicken the other too much. 1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 471 Another mode of ploughing land from the flat surface is casting or yoking or coupling the ridges.
8. a. intr. (for refl.) To join, associate oneself, be or become connected or linked. Now rare.
1500–20Dunbar Poems lv. 33 Keip ȝou fra harlattis nycht and day; Thay sall repent quha with thame ȝockis. a1592Greene Jas. IV, v. ii, That galling grief and I may yoke in one. 1607Shakes. Cor. iii. i. 57 You must enquire your way,..with a gentler spirit, Or neuer be so Noble as a Consull, Nor yoake with him for Tribune. 1851Tennyson To the Queen 10 The care That yokes with empire.
b. with reference to the married state.
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. i. 23 God forbid, that I should wish them seuer'd, Whom God hath ioyn'd together: I, and 'twere pittie, to sunder them, That yoake so well together. 1624Fletcher Rule a Wife, i. iv, Alt. Shee would faine marry. 1. Lady... Who would she yoke with? 1765Boswell Let. 11 May in Corr. Boswell & Johnson (1966) 167 At any trade I shall be in no hurry to yoke as my Father calls it. 1920R. Macaulay Potterism ii. i. 61 She is yoking together with an unbeliever.
9. intr. To join battle, engage (with an enemy); to engage in a contest or dispute; rarely trans. to engage in dispute with, attack. Sc.
1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) III. 333 Syne he and tha hes ȝokkit sone togidder In plane battell. 1581A. Hall Iliad v. 92 We sooner see goe to the hacke, the dull and fearful foke, Than hardie souldiors in the field, who wishe with foes to yoke. 1587Montgomerie Sonn. xix. 12 Ȝok when we will, I hope to gar him ȝeild. 1646R. Baillie Lett. & Jrnls. (1841) II. 398 The orthodoxe and heterodoxe partie will yoke about it with all their strength. 1822Chalmers in Hanna Mem. (1850) II. 360, I..yoked upon him, and posed him well with questions. 1901N. Munro Doom Castle xv, She yoked himsel' on his jyling the lassie.
10. trans. To set (a person or thing) to work or service (usually consciously fig. from 2); dial. to urge to attack, set (a dog) upon a person.
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. ii. i. 116 There's Vlysses, and old Nestor,..yoke you like draft-Oxen, and make you plough vp the warre. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. cxiv. 285 He hath yoked me to work, to wrestle with Christ's love. 1681S. Colvil Whigs Supplic. (1751) 98 Bishops either will cause stone him, Or else yoak butcher dogs upon him. 1805MacIndoe in Chambers Pop. Hum. Scot. Poems (1862) 152 To count, his man and Tam were yoket, Ten hunder thousand tatties. 1807Coleridge Let. to H. Coleridge 3 Apr., Mere natural qualities..must not be deemed virtues until they are broken in and yoked to the plough of Reason. 1867Duke of Argyll Reign of Law iii. 128 It is by wisdom and knowledge that the Forces of Nature..are yoked to service. 1910W. R. Nicoll Round of Clock xv. 230 He yoked his great imagination to constant labour.
11. intr. To engage vigorously in some occupation; to set to work, set to; to put one's hands to; to set on a person. Sc.
1554in Tytler Hist. Scot. (1864) III. 29 [‘Oh!’ said Angus, ‘that I had here my white goss-hawk: we should then all] yoke [at once’]. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. xciv. 243 O, if I could yoke in amongst the thick of angels and seraphims and now-glorified saints! 1685Peden Let. to Prisoners July, He is the easiest merchant ever the people of God yoked with. 1768Ross Helenore 20 Right yape she yoked to the pleasing feast. 1816Chalmers in Hanna Mem. (1850) II. 83, I yoked to the review of ‘Jones’. 1818Ibid. 444 In homely phrase..she yoked to the reading of the Bible upon that principle. 1823E. Logan St. Johnstoun ix, Wi' that they a' yoked to me, and hoisted me ower into the cobble. 1886J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 74 To Yoke, to resume work. 1895Marchbank Coven. Annandale xi, They yoked on the man as he was riding alang in his carriage.
▪ IV. yoke
see yolk, yuke. |