A shaped beam laid across the necks of a pair of oxen and held by bows beneath, coupling them so they pull as one. A yoke must be cut to its particular pair — the wrong curve galls a shoulder raw within a day and lames a beast worth more than the cart it draws. Ploughmen keep their own and will not lend them.
Yoke, ox
Shaped wooden beam coupling a pair of oxen to a plough or cart.