• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/jəʊk/
• (General American)enPR:yōk,IPA^(key):/joʊk/

• Audio(General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-əʊk
• Homophone:yolk

FromMiddle Englishyok,yoke,ȝok^[1] fromOld Englishġeoc(“yoke”), fromProto-Germanic*juką(“yoke”), fromProto-Indo-European*yugóm(“yoke”), from*yewg-(“to join; to tie together, yoke”).^[2]Doublet ofyuga,jugum,yoga and possiblyyogh.

Senses 3.1 (“area of arable land”) and 3.2 (“amount of work done with draught animals”) probably referred to the area of land that could generally be ploughed by yoked draught animals within a given time.^[2]

yoke (pluralyokes)

1. Senses relating to a frame around the neck.
   1. Abar orframe by whichtwooxen or otherdraught animals arejoined at theirnecksenabling them topull acart,plough, etc.;(by extension) adeviceattached to asingle draught animal for the samepurpose.
      • 1557 February 13 (Gregorian calendar),Thomas Tusser, “Februarij”, inA Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie, London:[…]Richard Tottel,→OCLC; republished London:[…] Robert Triphook, […], and William Sancho, […],1810,→OCLC, stanza 64,page13:

        Thy seruant in walking thy pastures aboute: / foryokes, forkes and rakes, let him loke to finde oute. / And after atleyser let this be hishier: / to trimme them and make them at home by the fier.

      • c.1595–1596 (date written),William Shakespeare,A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London:[…][Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published1600,→OCLC,[Act II, scene i]:

        The Oxe hath therefore ſtretcht hisyoake in vaine, / The Ploughman loſt his ſweat, and the greene corne / Hath rotted, ere his youth attainde a bearde:[…]

      • 1697,Virgil, “The Third Book of theGeorgics”, inJohn Dryden, transl.,The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London:[…]Jacob Tonson, […],→OCLC,page103, lines226–227:

        Firſt let 'em [horses] run at large; and never know / The tamingYoak, or draw the crooked Plough.

      • 1725,Homer, “Book III”, in [Alexander Pope], transl.,The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London:[…]Bernard Lintot,→OCLC,page127, lines500–503:

        A yearling bullock to thy name ſhall ſmoke, / Untam'd, unconſcious of the gallingyoke, / With ample forehead, and yet tender horns / Whoſe budding honours ductile gold adorns.

      • a.1749 (date written),James Thomson, “Spring”, inThe Seasons, London:[…]A[ndrew] Millar, and sold byThomas Cadell, […], published1768,→OCLC,page 4, lines34–40:

        Joyous, th' impatient huſbandman perceives / Relenting Nature, and his luſty ſteers / Drives from their ſtalls, to where the well-us'd plough / Lies in the furrow, looſened from the froſt. / There, unrefuſing, to the harneſs'dyoke / They lend their ſhoulder, and begin their toil, / Chear'd by the ſimple ſong and ſoaring lark.

   2. Any of variouslinking orsupportingobjects thatresembles a yoke(sense 1.1); acrosspiece, acurved bar, etc.
      • 1890 July 4, “‘Engineering’ Illustrated Patent Record”, inW[illiam] H[enry] Maw,J[ames] Dredge [Jr.], editors, compiled by W. Lloyd Wise,Engineering: An Illustrated Weekly Journal, volume L, London: Offices for advertisements and publication—35 & 36,Bedford Street,Strand, W.C.,→ISSN,→OCLC,page29, column 1:

        Steam Engines.[…] The valve rods are coupled by connecting-rods[…] andyokes […], to eccentrics […].

      1. Apole carried on the neck andshoulders of a person,used forcarrying apair ofbuckets, etc.,one at eachend of the pole; acarrying pole.[from 17th c.]

         Synonyms:(Sri Lanka, dated)pingo,milkmaid's yoke,shoulder pole

         • 1821, John Clare, “[Poems.] The Disappointment.”, inThe Village Minstrel, and Other Poems, volume I, London:[…][T. Miller] forTaylor andHessey, […]; and E[dward] Drury, […],→OCLC, stanza 5,page155:

           And whenever to rest she her buckets set down, / She jingled heryokes to and fro, / And heryokes she might jingle till morn—a rude clown, / Ere he it seem'd offered to go.

         • 1876,Thomas Hardy, “A Street in Anglebury—A Heath Near—Inside the ‘Old Fox Inn’”, inThe Hand of Ethelberta: A Comedy in Chapters […], volume I, London:Smith, Elder, & Co., […],→OCLC,page 3:

           The speaker, who had been carrying a pair of pails on ayoke, deposited them upon the edge of the pavement in front of the inn, and straightened his back to an excruciating perpendicular.

      2. (aviation) Any of variousdevices with crosspieces used tocontrol anaircraft; specifically, thecontrol column.[from 20th c.]

         Synonym:control wheel

         1. (video games) A similar device used as agame controller.
      3. (bodybuilding)Well-developedmuscles of the neck and shoulders.
         • 2010 April, Sean Hyson, Jim Wendler, “Build an NFL Neck”, inMen’s Fitness, New York, N.Y.:American Media,→ISSN,→OCLC, page73; reproduced as “The Big Yoke Workout”, inMen’s Journal‎^[1], accessed 19 November 2021, archived fromthe original on19 November 2021:

           Nothing says you're a dedicated lifter and true athlete more than a massiveyoke—that is, the muscles of the neck, traps, and rear delts.

      4. (clothing) Thepart of anitem ofclothing whichfits around the shoulders or thehips from which therest of thegarmenthangs, and which is oftendistinguished by having adoublethickness ofmaterial, ordecorativeflourishes.[from 19th c.]
         • 1913 June,Willa Sibert Cather, chapter I, inO Pioneers!, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.:Houghton Mifflin Company […],→OCLC, part I (The Wild Land),pages11–12:

           The country children thereabouts wore their dresses to their shoe-tops, but this city child was dressed in what was then called the "Kate Greenaway" manner, and her red cashmere frock, gathered full from theyoke, came almost to the floor.

         • 1952,Doris Lessing, chapter 1, inMartha Quest, London:HarperCollinsPublishers, published1993,→ISBN, part 1,page28:

           The dresses her mother made looked ugly, even obscene, for her breasts were well grown, and theyokes emphasized them, showing flattened bulges under the tight band of material; and the straight falling line of the skit was spoiled by her full hips.

      5. (electrical engineering) Originally, ametalpiececonnecting the poles of amagnet orelectromagnet; later, a part ofmagnetic circuit (such as in agenerator ormotor) notsurrounded bywindings(“wireswound around thecores ofelectricaltransformers”).
      6. (electronics) Theelectromagneticcoil thatdeflects theelectronbeam in acathode ray tube.[from 19th c.]
      7. (glassblowing) AY-shapedstand used tosupport ablowpipe orpunty whilereheating in theglory hole.
      8. (nautical) Afitting placed across thehead of therudder with alineattached at each end by which aboat may besteered; inmodernuse it isprimarilyfound insailingcanoes andkayaks.[from 18th c.]
         • 1840,R[ichard] H[enry] D[ana], Jr., chapter XXIII, inTwo Years before the Mast. […] (Harper’s Family Library; no. CVI), New York, N.Y.:Harper & Brothers […],→OCLC,page237:

           A light whale-boat, handsomely painted, and fitted out with stern seats,yoke, tiller-ropes, &c. hung on the starboard quarter, and was used as the gig.[…] The bow-man had charge of the boat-hook and painter, and the coxswain of the rudder,yoke, and stern-sheets.

      9. (chieflyUS) A frame orconvex crosspiece from which abell is hung.
   3. (historical)
      1. Acollar placed on the neck of aconqueredperson orprisoner torestrainmovement.
      2. (agriculture) A frameplaced on the neck of an animal such as acow,pig, orgoose topreventpassage through afence or otherbarrier.[from 16th c.]
         • 1878,Thomas Tusser, “A Digression to Husbandlie Furniture”, inFive Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for theEnglish Dialect Society byTrübner & Co., […],→OCLC; republished as W[illiam] Payne, Sidney J[ohn Hervon] Herrtage, editors,Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie. […], London: Published for theEnglish Dialect Society byTrübner & Co., […],1878,→OCLC, stanza 17,page38:

           Strongyoke for a hog, with a twicher and rings, / with tar in a tarpot, for dangerous things:[…]

           According to footnote 1, in the 1577 edition the lines were as follows: “Hogyokes, and a twicher, and ringes for a hog, / with tar in a pot, for the byeting of dog.”

         • 1770, Peter Kalm [i.e.,Pehr Kalm], translated byJohn Reinhold Forster,Travels into North America; […], volume I, Warrington, Cheshire:[…] William Eyres,→OCLC,pages164–165:

           Each hog had a wooden triangularyoke about its neck, by which it was hindered from penetrating through the holes in the encloſures; and for this reaſon, the encloſures are made very ſlender, and eaſy to put up, and do not require much wood.

      3. (Ancient Rome)Chiefly inpass under the yoke: araised yoke(sense 1.1), or asymbolic yokeformed from twospearsinstalledupright in theground with another spearconnecting theirtops, under which adefeatedarmy wasmade tomarch as asign ofsubjugation.
         • 1659, T[itus] Livius [i.e.,Livy], “[Book III]”, inPhilemon Holland, transl.,The Romane Historie […], London:[…] W. Hunt, for George Sawbridge, […],→OCLC,page89:

           [H]is will and pleaſure was they ſhould paſſe all under theyoke or gallows: the maner wherof is this. They took three ſpears or javelins, and ſet two of them pitched in the ground endlong, and their overthwart faſtned unto the other. Under this kind of gallows the Dictator compelled the Æquians to go.

         • 1769,[Oliver] Goldsmith, “From the Creation of the Tribunes to the Appointment of the Decemviri”, inThe Roman History, from the Foundation of the City of Rome, to the Destruction of the Western Empire. […], volume I, London:[…] S. Baker and G. Leigh, […];T[homas] Davies, […]; and L. Davis, […],→OCLC,page127:

           [T]he Æqui being attacked on both ſides and unable to reſiſt or fly, begged a ceſſation of arms. They offered the dictator his own terms; he gave them their lives, but obliged them, in token of ſervitude, to paſs under theyoke, which was two ſpears ſet upright, and another acroſs, in the form of a door, beneath which the vanquiſhed were to march.

2. Senses relating to a pair of harnessed draught animals.
   1. (chieflyhistorical) A pair of draught animals, especially oxen,yokedtogether to pull something.
      • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.],The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany:Peter Schöffer],→OCLC,The Gospell off S. Luke xiiij:[19],folio cj, recto:

        I have bought fyveyooke of oxẽ [oxen]⸝ ãd I must goo to prove thẽ⸝ I prayethe have me excuſed.

      • 1861, E. J. Guerin,Mountain Charley, page31:

        Oneyoke of cattle became so foot sore that they were unserviceable, and we were obliged to drive them behind the wagon.

   2. (archaic) A pair ofthingslinked in someway.
      • c.1597 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act II, scene i],page44, column 2:

        [T]heſe that accuſe him in his intent towards our wiues, are ayoake of his diſcarded men: very rogues, now they be out of ſeruice.

      • 1851 November 14,Herman Melville, “Does the Whale’s Magnitude Diminish?—Will He Perish?”, inMoby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.:Harper & Brothers; London:Richard Bentley,→OCLC,page513:

        [T]hese whales, influenced by some views to safety, now swim the seas in immense caravans, so that to a large degree the scattered solitaries,yokes, and pods, and schools of other days are now aggregated into vast but widely separated, unfrequent armies.

   3. (Ireland,Scotland) Acarriage, ahorse and cart;(by extension, generally) acar or othervehicle.[from 19th c.]
      • 1916 December 29,James Joyce, chapter V, inA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.:B[enjamin] W. Huebsch,→OCLC,page212:

        […] I missed the train home and I couldn't get any kind of ayoke to give me a lift for, as luck would have it, there was a mass meeting that same day over in Castletownroche and all the cars in the country were there.

   4. (Ireland,informal) Amiscellaneous object; agadget.[from 20th c.]

      Synonym:yokibus

      • 2023 August 5, Paul Williams, quoting Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, “What Hutch and Downhall said on their drive north”, inIrish Independent, page12:

        These threeyokes [AK-47s] we're throwin' them up to them [CIRA]^[sic] either way…

   5. (Ireland,informal) Achap, afellow.
   6. (Ireland,slang) Apill of apsychoactivedrug.
3. Senses relating to quantities, and other extended uses.
   1. (chieflyKent,archaic) Anarea ofarableland, specifically oneconsisting of aquarter of asuling, or around 50–60acres (20–24hectares); hence, asmallmanor or piece of land.
      • 1790,Edward Hasted, “The Hundred of Calehill”, inThe History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent. […], volume III, Canterbury, Kent:[…][F]or the author, by Simmons and Kirkby,→OCLC,page207, column 2:

        Of this ſuling Ralph de Curbeſpine holds oneyoke and an half, which is and was worth ſeparately ten ſhillings. Adelold had half a ſuling and half ayoke, and in the time of K. Edward the Confeſſor it was worth 40 ſhillings, and afterwards 20 ſhillings, now 40 ſhillings.

   2. (chieflyEngland, especiallyKent; alsoScotland;historical) Anamount ofwork done with draught animals,lasting abouthalf aday;(by extension) an amount orshift of any work.[from 18th c.]

      to work twoyokes

      (literally, “to work both morning and afternoon”)

   3. (figuratively)
      1. Abond oflove, especiallymarriage; also, a bond offriendship orpartnership; anobligation ortaskborne by two or more people.
         • c.1596–1598 (date written),W[illiam] Shakespeare,The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto),[London]:[…]J[ames] Roberts [forThomas Heyes], published1600,→OCLC,[Act III, scene i]:

           [I]n companions / That do conuerſe and waſte the time together, / Whoſe ſoules do beare an equallyoke of loue, / There muſt be needs a like proportion / Of lineaments, of manners, and of ſpirit[…]

         • 1697,Virgil, “The Fourth Book of theÆneis”, inJohn Dryden, transl.,The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London:[…]Jacob Tonson, […],→OCLC,page297, lines21–23 and 25:

           Such were his Looks, ſo gracefully he ſpoke, / That were I not reſolv'd againſt theYoke / Of hapleſs Marriage;[…] / To this one Error I might yield again:[…]

         • 1847,Alfred Tennyson, “Part VI”, inThe Princess: A Medley, London:Edward Moxon, […],→OCLC,page130:

           And, if thou needs must bear theyoke, I wish it / Gentle as freedom[…]

         • 1885 September,H[enry] Rider Haggard, “Umbopa Enters Our Service”, inKing Solomon’s Mines, London, Paris:Cassell & Company, […], published1887,→OCLC,page38:

           First of all, gentlemen, I have been observing you both for the last two days, and if you will not think me impertinent I will say that I like you, and think that we shall come up well to theyoke together.

      2. Something whichoppresses or restrains a person; aburden.
         • c.1588–1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare],The Most Lamentable Romaine Tragedie of Titus Andronicus: […] (First Quarto), London:[…] Iohn Danter, and are to be sold byEdward White &Thomas Millington, […], published1594,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene i]:

           Their mothers bed-chamber ſhould not be ſafe, / For theſe baſe bond-men to theyoake of Rome.

         • 1610,William Camden, “Romans in Britaine”, inPhilémon Holland, transl.,Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London:[…][Eliot’s Court Press for] Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton,→OCLC,page48:

           Whereupon our enemies, kindled with rage, and pricked forward with an ignominious indignity, leſt they ſhould be brought under theyoke of a womans government, with a strong power of choiſe youth, by force of armes invaded her kingdome, which was foreſeen by us:[…]

         • 1648,Joseph Beaumont, “Canto XI. The Traytor. Stanza 28.”, inPsyche: Or Loves Mysterie, […], London:[…] John Dawson for George Boddington, […],→OCLC,page186, column 2:

           O ſhameleſſe boldneſſe! which can in defence / Ofmeek Religion, put on Barbarouſnes, / And make theBond of Sweetnes a pretence / To break all otheryoakes;[…]

         • 1660 February,John Milton,The Ready and Easy Way to Establish a Free Commonwealth, and the Excellence thereof, Compar’d with the Inconveniencies and Dangers of Readmitting Kingship in this Nation; republished inA Complete Collection of the Historical, Political, and Miscellaneous Works of John Milton, […], volume II, Amsterdam [actually London:s.n.],1698,→OCLC,page792:

           For Kings to com, never forgetting thir former Ejection, will be ſure to fortify and arm themſelves ſufficiently for the future againſt all ſuch Attempts hereafter from the People: who ſhall be then ſo narrowly watch'd and kept ſo low, that[…] they never ſhall be able to regain what they now have purchas'd and may enjoy, or to free themſelves from anyYoke impos'd upon them:[…]

         • 1757 (date written), [Edmund Burke], “Introduction. On Taste.”, inA Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, 2nd edition, London:[…]R[obert] andJ[ames] Dodsley, […], published1759,→OCLC, part,pages34–35:

           [I]t frequently happens that a very poor judge, merely by force of a greater complexional ſenſibility, is more affected by a very poor piece, than the beſt judge by the moſt perfect;[…] the judgment is for the greater part employed in throwing ſtumbling blocks in the way of the imagination, in diſſipating the ſcenes of its enchantment, and in tying us down to the diſagreeableyoke of our reaſon:[…]

         • 1849,Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, inThe History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London:Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans,→OCLC,page42:

           If any state forms a great regular army, the bordering states must imitate the example, or must submit to a foreignyoke.

         • 2013, Richard Stallman,Free Software Is Even More Important Now‎^[2]:

           If the users don't control the program, the program controls the users. With proprietary software, there is always some entity, the “owner” of the program, that controls the program—and through it, exercises power over its users. A nonfree program is ayoke, an instrument of unjust power.

FromMiddle Englishyoken,yoke,ȝoken(“to put a harness or yoke on a draught animal or pair of such animals, to yoke; to attach (an animal to a cart, plough, etc.) with a yoke; to lock (arms) in wrestling; to bind (oneself or someone) to something”) [and other forms],^[3] fromOld Englishġeocian,iucian, fromOld Englishġeoc(“yoke”) (seeetymology 1) +-ian(suffix formingverbs fromadjectives andnouns).^[4]

yoke (third-person singular simple presentyokes,present participleyoking,simple past and past participleyoked)

1. (transitive)
   1. Tojoin (severaldraught animals) together with ayoke; also, tofasten a yoke (on one or more draught animals) topull acart,plough, etc.; or toattach (a cart, plough, etc.) to a draught animal.
      • 1585, Adrianus Iunius [i.e.,Hadrianus Junius], “Bubulcus”, in Iohn Higins [i.e.,John Higgins], transl.,The Nomenclator, or Remembrancer of Adrianus Iunius Physician, […], Conteining Proper Names and Apt Termes for All Thinges vnder Their Conuenient Titles, […], London:[…] Ralph Newberie, andHenrie Denham,→OCLC,pages513–514:

        Bubulcus,[…] An oxeheard, or coweheard: a driuer of oxen and kine: he thatyoketh oxen, and[…] goeth to plowe with them.

      • 1697,Virgil, “The First Book of theGeorgics”, inJohn Dryden, transl.,The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London:[…]Jacob Tonson, […],→OCLC,page58, lines298–301:

        But whenAstrea’s Ballance, hung on high, / Betwixt the Nights and Days divides the Sky, / ThenYoke your Oxen, ſow your Winter Grain; / ’Till coldDecember comes with driving Rain.

      • 1697,Virgil, “The Twelfth Book of theÆneis”, inJohn Dryden, transl.,The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London:[…]Jacob Tonson, […],→OCLC,page591, lines433–434:

        Theſe on their Horſes vault, thoſeyoke the Car; / The reſt with Swords on high, run headlong to the War.

      • 1791,Oliver Goldsmith, “Animals of the Cat Kind”, inAn History of the Earth, and Animated Nature. […], new edition, volume III, London:[…] F[rancis] Wingrave, successor to Mr.[John] Nourse, […],→OCLC,page184:

        However, it is probable that even the fierceſt could be rendered domeſtic, if man thought the conqueſt worth the trouble. Lions have beenyoked to the chariots of conquerors, and tigers have been taught to tend thoſe herds which they are known at preſent to deſtroy;[…]

      • 1860,J[ohn] Muir, “The Languages of Northern India: Their History and Relations”, inOriginal Sanskrit Texts on the Origin and History of the People of India, Their Religion and Institutions. […], 2nd part (The Trans-Himalayan Origin of the Hindus, and Their Affinity with the Western Branches of the Arian Race), London, Edinburgh:Williams and Norgate, […],→OCLC, section X (Various Stages of Sanskrit Literature, […]),page208:

        Nodhas, son of Gotama, has fabricated this new prayer to thee, O India, who art eternal, andyokest thy coursers,[…]

      • 1882,Ouida [pseudonym; Maria Louise Ramé], chapter II, inIn Maremma […], volume I, London:Chatto & Windus, […],→OCLC,page33:

        Twice a year regularly sheyoked her mule to her cart and drove into Grosseto, making a two days' journey on the road each way, on purpose to sell the homespun linen she had woven from the thread she had spun in the six months' time.

      • 1880,Mark Twain[pseudonym] (Samuel L[anghorne] Clemens), chapter XI, inA Tramp Abroad; […], Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company; London:Chatto & Windus,→OCLC,page105:

        As we tramped gaily out at the gate of the town, we overtook a peasant's cart, partly laden with odds and ends of cabbages and similar vegetable rubbish, and drawn by a small cow and a smaller donkeyyoked together.

      • 1918,Rudyard Kipling, “The Fumes of the Heart”, inThe Eyes of Asia, Garden City, N.Y.:Doubleday, Page & Company,→OCLC,pages37–38:

        The men go to the war daily. It is the women who do all the work at home, having been well taught in their childhood. We have onlyyoked one buffalo to the plough up till now. It is now time toyoke up the milch-buffaloes.

      • 1943 November –1944 February (date written; published1945 August 17),George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], chapterVI, inAnimal Farm […], London:Secker & Warburg,→OCLC; republished asAnimal Farm (eBook no. 0100011h.html), Australia:Project Gutenberg Australia, March 2008:

        Transporting the stone when it was once broken was comparatively simple.[…] [E]ven Muriel and Benjamin [a goat and a donkey]yoked themselves into an old governess-cart and did their share.

   2. Toput (one'sarm or arms) around someone'sneck,waist, etc.; also, tosurround (someone's neck, waist, etc.) with one's arms.
   3. To put (something) around someone's neck like a yoke; also, to surround (someone's neck) with something.
   4. (historical)
      1. Toplace acollar on the neck of (aconqueredperson orprisoner) torestrainmovement.
      2. (agriculture) To place aframe on theneck of (an animal such as acow,pig, orgoose) topreventpassage through afence or otherbarrier.
   5. (figuratively)
      1. Tobring (two or more people or things) into acloserelationship (often one that isundesired); toconnect, tolink, tounite.
         • c.1610–1611 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act I, scene ii],page281, column 1:

           Oh then, my beſt blood turne / To an infected Gelly, and my Name / Beyoak'd with his, that did betray the Beſt:[…]

         • 1647, John Lightfoote [i.e.,John Lightfoot], “Sect. XIV.St. Iohn Chap. III.”, inThe Harmony of the Four Evangelists, among Themselves, and vvith the Old Testament. […], 3rd part (From the First Passeover after Our Saviours Baptisme to the Second), London:[…] R[ichard] C[otes] for Andrew Crook […], published1650,→OCLC,page12:

           The Author ofJuchaſinyoketh him in the ſame time and the ſame ſociety withRabban Jochanan ben Zacchai, who flouriſhed in the times ofChriſts being upon earth, and till after the deſtruction ofIeruſalem:[…]

         • 1817 December 31 (indicated as1818), [Walter Scott], chapter I, inRob Roy. […], volume II, Edinburgh:[…]James Ballantyne and Co. forArchibald Constable and Co. […]; London:Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown,→OCLC,page12:

           There's the kingdom o' Fife, frae Borrowstownness to the east nook, it's just like a great combined city—Sae mony royal boroughsyoked on end to end, like ropes of ingans,[…]

         • 1881,Aeschylus, “Prometheus Bound”, inAnna Swanwick, transl.,The Dramas of Æschylus, 3rd edition, London:George Bell & Sons, […],→OCLC,page372, lines593–595:

           What trespass canst find, son ofKronos, in me, / That thouyokest me ever to pain? / Woe! Ah, woe!

         • 2004, Patricia Bate,Esther Thelen, “Development of Turning and Reaching”, in Mark L. Latash, Mindy F. Levin, editors,Progress in Motor Control: Volume Three: Effects of Age, Disorder, and Rehabilitation, Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics,→ISBN, part I (Sensorimotor Integration),page61:

           The level of support and relation to gravity also influence whether infants used one or two hands to reach.[…] They [researchers] showed that across all postures, nonsitting infants more frequentlyyoked their arms into a bilateral reach pattern than the independent sitters.

      2. To bring into orkeep (someone) inbondage or astate ofsubmission; toenslave or subject towage slavery; toconfine, torestrain; tooppress, tosubjugate.
         • a.1543,Thomas Wyatt, “Psalm CII.Domine, exaudi orationem meam.”, inJohn Holland, editor,The Psalmists of Britain. […], volume I, London: R. Groombridge, […]; Sheffield, Yorkshire: Ridge and Jackson, published1843,→OCLC,page83:

           For thys frayltie, thatyoketh all mankynde, / Thou shalt awake, and rue this mysereye: / Rue on Syon.

         • 1586, Peter de la Primaudaye [i.e.,Pierre de La Primaudaye], “Of Vice”, inT[homas] B[owes], transl.,The French Academie, wherin is Discoursed the Institution of Maners, […], London:[…] Edmund Bollifant for G. Bishop and Ralph Newbery,→OCLC,pages70–71:

           It is moſt certaine, that vice putteth on a viſard, and goeth diſguiſed and couered with goodly ſhewes that belong onely to vertue,[…] And being thus clothed, with the helpe of corruptible pleaſures that lightly paſſe away, ityoketh baſe minded men, whoſe care is onely ſet vpon the deſire of earthly things,[…]

         • 1591 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act II, scene iii],page103, column 1:

           Theſe are his ſubſtance, ſinewes, armes, and ſtrength, / With which heyoaketh your rebellious Neckes, / Razeth your Cities, and ſubuerts your Townes, / And in a moment makes them deſolate.

         • 1605, M. N. [pseudonym;William Camden], “The Languages”, inRemaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London:[…]G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson,→OCLC, [https:// page22]:

           [T]he practiſe of the Normans, who as a monument of the Conqueſt, would haveyoaked the Engliſh vnder their tongue, as they did vnder their command, by compelling them to teach their children in ſchooles nothing but French,[…]

         • 1662 (indicated as1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto II.”, inHudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London:[…]John Martyn andHenry Herringman, […], published1678; republished inA[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor,Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire:University Press,1905,→OCLC,page56:

           For Words and Promises thatyoke / The Conqu’ror, are quickly broke, / LikeSamson’s Cuffs, though by his own / Direction and advice put on.

         • 1670,John Milton, “The Second Book”, inThe History of Britain, that Part Especially now Call’d England. […], London:[…] J[ohn] M[acock] for James Allestry,[…],→OCLC,page62:

           TheDruids, thoſe were thir Prieſts,[…] with hands lift up to Heav'n uttering direfull praiers, aſtoniſh'd theRomans;[…] Then were they [the druids]yoak'd with Garriſons, and the places conſecrate to thir bloodie ſuperſtitions deſtroi'd.

         • 1671,John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, inParadise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London:[…] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […],→OCLC,pages30–31, lines408–412:

           I yielded, and unlock'd her all my heart, / Who with a grain of manhood well reſolv'd / Might eaſily have ſhook off all her ſnares: / But foul effeminacy held meyok't / Her Bond-ſlave;[…]

         • 1781 (date written),William Cowper, “Table Talk”, inPoems, London:[…]J[oseph] Johnson, […], published1782,→OCLC,page14:

           If all men indiſcriminately ſhare, / His foſt'ring pow'r and tutelary care, / As well beyok'd by deſpotiſm's hand, / As dwell at large in Britain's charter'd land.

         • 2024, Hemangini Gupta,Experimental Times: Startup Capitalism and Feminist Futures in India, University of California Press,→ISBN, page152:

           For many at Captivate, this job was preferable to a specific other. For Radhika and Purnima, it was an alternative to jobs in banking that had rigid hours andyoked workers to what they described as colonialism all over again.

   6. (chieflyScotland,archaic,passive voice) To be joined to (another person) inwedlock (often with the implication that it is aburdensome state); to be or becomemarried to (someone).
      • c.1603–1604 (date written),William Shakespeare,The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London:[…]N[icholas] O[kes] forThomas Walkley, […], published1622,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene i],page63:

        God ſir be a man, / Thinke euery bearded fellow, that's butyoak'd, / May draw with you,[…]

      • 1611,The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London:[…]Robert Barker, […],→OCLC,2 Corinthians6:14, column 1:

        Be ye not vnequallyyoked with vnbeleeuers: for what fellowſhip hath righteouſneſſe with vnrighteouſneſſe? and what communion hath light with darkneſſe?

      • 1712 August 23 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “TUESDAY, August 12, 1712”, inThe Spectator, number455; republished inAlexander Chalmers, editor,The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.:D[aniel] Appleton & Company,1853,→OCLC,page245:

        In short, I have the honour to beyoked to a young lady, who is, in plain English, for her standing, a very eminent scold.

        The spelling has been modernized.

      • 1847,Alfred Tennyson, “Part VI”, inThe Princess: A Medley, London:Edward Moxon, […],→OCLC,page160:

        My bride, / My wife, my life. O we will walk this world, /Yoked in all exercise of noble end, / And so thro' those dark gates across the wild / That no man knows.

2. (intransitive)
   1. To be orbecome connected, linked, or united in a relationship; to havedealings with.
      • c.1608–1609 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act III, scene i],page14, column 2:

        [I]f you will paſſe / To where you are bound, you muſt enquire your way, / Which you are out of, with a gentler ſpirit, / Or neuer be ſo Noble as a Conſull, / Noryoake with him for Tribune.

      • 1851 March,Alfred Tennyson, “To the Queen”, inThe Complete Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson, Chicago, Ill.: The Dominion Company, published1897,→OCLC,page 1:

        And should your greatness, and the care / Thatyokes with empire, yield you time / To make demand of modern rhyme / If aught of ancient worth be there;[…]

   2. (chieflyScotland,obsolete) To be or become joined in wedlock; to be married, towed.
      • c.1591–1592 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene i],page163, column 1:

        God forbid, that I ſhould wiſh them ſeuer'd, / Whom God hath ioyn'd together: / I, and 'twere pittie, to ſunder them, / Thatyoake ſo well together.

      • 1624 (first performance),John Fletcher,Rule a Wife and Have a Wife. A Comoedy. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire:[…] Leonard Lichfield […], published1640,→OCLC, Act I, scene[iii],page 8:

        Alt[ea]. Shee would faine marry. /1. Tis a proper calling, / And well beſeemes her yeares, who would ſheyoke with?

• underyoke
• yoker
• yoke together

Seeyolk.

yoke

1. Misspelling ofyolk.

•  deflection yoke on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  yoke on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  yoke (aeronautics) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  yoke (clothing) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  yoke (unit of measurement) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
•  yoke (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• Okey,okey

yoke

1. Alternative form ofyok

yoke

1. Alternative form ofyoken