Dungfork

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A farming tool with a lengthy handle and split tines, intended for lifting, shifting, and managing organic waste or manure
2. An agricultural instrument designed with a long grip and forked ends, utilized for moving and distributing animal waste or compost
3. A tool used on farms featuring a handle and two prongs that is employed to lift, transport, and arrange organic materials like manure or compost

Etymology: A dungfork is about as plain as English compounds get: it is simply a fork used for dung. "Dung" comes from Old English "dung," a word for manure that has kept its meaning for over a thousand years, while "fork" comes from Old English "forca," borrowed from the Latin "furca," meaning a two-pronged implement or forked support. Put together, the pair describes a tool with tines built for lifting and pitching animal waste, the kind that once stood in every farmyard and stable. The compound follows the same pattern as many older agricultural terms, where the first element names the material and the second names the tool. Because the word is transparent, its meaning has never drifted: a dungfork is still the implement a farmer uses to move muck, and its parts explain it fully.