pitchfork

English

Pitchfork next to a compost bin

Etymology

From Middle English pichfork, pycchefork, pychforke, pikeforke, pikkforke, pic-forcke, equivalent to pitch +‎ fork.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪtʃˌfɔɹk/

Noun

pitchfork (plural pitchforks)

1. An agricultural tool comprising a fork attached to a long handle used for pitching hay or bales of hay high up onto a haystack.
2. (rare) A tuning fork.
   • 1988, Tony Trischka, ‎Pete Wernick, Masters of the 5-String Banjo: In Their Own Words and Music (page 400)

     I went around with a pitchfork [tuning fork] in my pocket, and I'd hit it whenever I thought of it, and I developed perfect pitch […]

Derived terms

• pitchforkful
• rain pitchforks

Translations

farm tool with tines

• Azerbaijani: yaba (az), beşbarmaq
• Bashkir: һәнәк (hənək)
• Belarusian: ві́лы pl (víly)
• Bulgarian: ви́ла (bg) f (víla)
• Chamicuro: ashtoli
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 杈 (zh) (chā), 叉 (zh) (chā)

• Crimean Tatar: senek
• Czech: vidle (cs) f pl
• Danish: høtyv (da) c, fork (da) c
• Dutch: hooivork (nl), mestvork (nl), riek (nl)
• Estonian: hang (et)
• Finnish: hanko (fi), heinähanko (fi)
• French: fourche (fr) f
• Friulian: forcje f
• Galician: forcada (gl) f, galleta (gl) f
• German: Heugabel (de) f, Mistgabel (de) f

  Alemannic German: Furgge f

• Greek: δίκρανο (el) n (díkrano), δικράνι (el) n (dikráni), πιρούνα (el) f (piroúna)
• Hungarian: vasvilla (hu)
• Icelandic: heygaffall m
• Ido: forko (io)
• Irish: píce m
• Italian: forcone, forca (it)
• Japanese: ピッチフォーク (pitchifōku)
• Latin: mergae f pl, furcilla f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Lezgi: кьуьк (q̇ük)
• Luxembourgish: Mëschtgreef m
• Macedonian: вила f (vila)
• Maricopa: chmaly
• Nogai: сенек (senek)
• Northern Sami: háŋgu
• Norwegian: fork (no) m, høygaffel m
• O'odham: cuaʼaknakud
• Persian: هید (heyd), چنگک (fa) (cangak)
• Polish: widły (pl) f pl
• Portuguese: forcado (pt) m, forquilha (pt) f, garfo (pt) m
• Romanian: furcă (ro) f
• Russian: ви́лы (ru) pl (víly)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: виле f pl, рачве f pl

  Roman: vile (sh) f pl, račve (sh) f pl

• Slovak: vidly f pl
• Slovene: vile f pl
• Spanish: bieldo (es) m, horca (es) f
• Swedish: högaffel (sv) c, hötjuga (sv) c
• Thai: คราด (th) (krâat)
• Tibetan: ཁ་བྲག (kha brag)
• Ukrainian: ви́ла pl (výla), ґа́блі (uk) pl (gábli), га́блі pl (hábli)
• Vietnamese: chĩa (vi)
• Walloon: fotche (wa) f, fonne (wa) f

Verb

pitchfork (third-person singular simple present pitchforks, present participle pitchforking, simple past and past participle pitchforked)

1. (transitive) To toss or carry with a pitchfork.

   The hay was soon pitchforked onto the wagon.

2. (transitive, figurative) To throw suddenly.
   • 1925, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, The Parliamentary Debates, Official Report

     We have taken an age-old country, and we have suddenly, in 30 years, pitchforked it into the middle of the factory system.

Further reading

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