Yokes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Wooden frames used to harness animals in pairs ; to join together or unite closely ; to burden someone with a heavy load or hardship
2. Pairs of wooden beams placed on animals for pulling loads ; to connect or fasten together tightly ; to impose a restrictive or oppressive control
3. Devices placed on animals to enable pulling ; to combine or attach things closely ; to cause hardship or subjugation to others

Etymology: The plural of "yoke" inherits a very old idea: the wooden bar that binds two animals together so they pull as one. That bar's name comes from a root meaning "to join," which also gave Latin "iugum," Greek "zygon," and Sanskrit "yuga," all meaning a pairing or harness. Its family is wide: German "Joch," Dutch "juk," Swedish "ok," and Welsh "iau" all still mean the same thing, which tells you how far back the image of two beasts under one frame goes. The "yoke" in the sense of a field is more surprising. Some of its senses come from the amount of ground a team of yoked animals could plough in a day, so a unit of farmland was defined by labour rather than by measurement. Once a measure of work, the word then slid naturally into figurative use, where a yoke becomes a bond, a burden, or a form of subjugation imposed on others.

Synonyms: bindings, couplings, harnesses, attachments, leads

Antonyms: freedom, release, liberation