yoke

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English [edit]

A bow yoke on a bullock team (wooden bar).
A yoke (aviation).

Etymology [edit]

From Old English ġeoc, from Proto-Germanic *juką, from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm. Cognate with West Frisian jok, Dutch juk, German Joch, Danish åg, Swedish ok, Gothic 𐌾𐌿𐌺 (juk), Latin iugum (English jugular), Greek ζυγός (zugós, “yoke”), Sanskrit युग (yugā, “yoke, team”), Old Church Slavonic иго (igo) (Russian иго), Persian یوغ (yogh). Compare yoga.

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

yoke (plural yokes)

  1. A bar or frame of wood by which two oxen are joined at the heads or necks for working together.
  2. A pair (of animals, especially oxen).
    • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Luke XIV:
      And another sayd: I have bought fyve yooke of oxen, and I must goo to prove them, I praye the have me excused.
  3. A frame made to fit the neck and shoulders of a person, used for carrying a pair of buckets, etc., one at each end of the frame.
  4. (figuratively) A burden; something which represses or restrains a person.
  5. The part of a shirt that stretches over the shoulders, usually made out of a doubled piece of fabric. Or, a pair of fabric panels on trousers (especially jeans) or a skirt, across the back of the garment below the waistband.
    • 1913, Willa Cather, O Pioneers!
      [...] this city child was dressed in what was then called the "Kate Greenaway" manner, and her red cashmere frock, gathered full from the yoke, came almost to the floor.
  6. (bodybuilding) Well-developed muscles of the neck and shoulders.
    • 2010, Jim Wendler, "Build an NFL Neck", Men's Fitness (April), page 73.
      Nothing says you're a dedicated lifter and true athlete more than a massive yoke—that is, the muscles of the neck, traps, and rear delts.
  7. (aviation) The column-mounted control wheel of an aircraft.
  8. (electronics) The electro-magnetic coil that deflects the electron beam in a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube).
  9. (nautical) A fitting placed across the head of the rudder with a line attached at each end by which a boat may be steered. In modern use it is primarily found in sailing canoes and kayaks.
  10. (agriculture, dated, uncommon) An alternative name for a cowpoke.
  11. (informal, Ireland) An undefined object, a gadget.
  12. Common misspelling of yolk.

Synonyms [edit]

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

wooden bar
pair of animals
a burden; something which represses or restrains a person
yoke of a shirt
electromagnetic coil
nautical yoke

Verb [edit]

yoke (third-person singular simple present yokes, present participle yoking, simple past and past participle yoked)

  1. To link or to join.
    • 1945, George Orwell, Animal Farm, chapter 6
      […] Muriel and Benjamin yoked themselves into an old governess-cart and did their share.
  2. To unite, to connect.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

link or join
unite or connect
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