Throatlash

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A rope or strap fastened around the throat of a horse or other animal to keep its head secure or control its movement
2. A cord or leather strap passed around an animal's neck, used to restrain or guide the head during handling or hitching
3. A binding placed about a creature's throat to steady its head position or maintain control during work or transport

Etymology: Throatlash is a plain compound of "throat" and "lash," and its history is straightforward. "Throat" comes from Old English "throte," and "lash" here is the older sense of a strap or cord, the same thing that appears in "shoelace" and in the verb "to lash," meaning to bind something tight. A throatlash, then, is literally a strap that binds around the throat, most often the part of a horse's bridle or halter that passes under the jaw and throat to keep the headgear in place. The word is recorded in English from the 1500s, in the context of horse equipment, which is where it has stayed. Its meaning has not shifted much, so the compound describes exactly what it did when it was first formed.