breastplough

English

Alternative forms

• breastplow

Etymology

breast +‎ plough

Noun

breastplough (plural breastploughs)

1. A kind of plough, worked by handles near the worker's breast, and in some types by pushing with the breast/chest, by which ploughing can be done by hand (without a draft animal), albeit more slowly and difficultly, or by which turf (peat) can be cut for fuel; the type commonly used in preindustrial Britain is analogous to a spade with a large T-shaped handle gripped with both hands.

See also

• breast drill