cascrom

English

Alternative forms

• caschrom

Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic, from cas (“foot”) + crom (“crooked, bent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaskɹəm/

Noun

cascrom (plural cascroms)

1. (Scotland, Highlands) A type of foot plough with a crooked spade component, used in the Scottish Highlands.
   • 1843, James Logan, The Scottish Gaël; Or, Celtic Manners: As Preserved Among the Highlanders, 1st American Edition, page 309,

     That excellent instrument the cascrom, literally crooked foot, a kind of foot plough, which the Highlanders can manage with great dexterity, and which is too little known,* is still used in mountainous districts, and, from its excellent adaptation to the culture of rugged and steep hills, where a plough cannot be used, is not likely ever to be superseded by any implement.

   • 1866, The St. James's Magazine and United Empire Review, Volume 16: April—July, page 90,

     The other was the “cascrom,” a very old Celtic implement, intermediate between the spade and the plough.

   • 1900, The Badminton Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 10, page 293:

     And so complete was the carnage within the gloom of the corrie that never a man of the erewhile friendly crofters returned to work the cascrom within the township of Achnashee.

   • 1982, W. M. MacKenzie, The Book of Arran: History and Folklore‎^[1], page 200:

     The cascrom, or foot-plough, was at this time unknown in Arran.

   • 2007, Martin Rackwitz, Travels to Terra Incognita: The Scottish Highlands and Hebrides in Early Modern Travellers' Accounts c. 1600 to 1800‎^[2], page 298:

     The ‘cascrom’, or crooked spade, was the most important tool for agriculture throughout the Western Isles and major parts of the mainland Highlands.

Related terms

• casdireach (foot plough with straight spade)

Anagrams

• comcars