Yokings

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The act of attaching a yoke to a pair of animals for the purpose of pulling a load or plowing; the condition or period during which such animals are yoked; cooperative effort or burden shared by those linked together
2. The process of fitting a harness to draft animals to enable them to draw equipment or wagons; the duration or circumstance of being joined in this manner; a metaphor for collaboration or shared responsibility
3. Engaging in the practice of binding animals with a yoke to facilitate labor or transportation; the state of being connected in such a way; representing teamwork or mutual obligation among linked parties

Etymology: "Yokings" is the plural of "yoking," so it names more than one instance of the act or state of joining draft animals to a load. The noun "yoking" comes from the verb "yoke," which has been part of English since Old English, where "geoc" named the wooden crossbar fixed across the necks of oxen. The sense of joining two things together under a shared burden grew out of that literal harness, and the metaphorical use for partnership or shared responsibility followed from it.

Synonyms: joining, connecting

Antonyms: detaching, disconnecting