(a) A collar or other similar apparatus attached to a team of animals and used to form a connection to a wagon, plow, etc., yoke; also fig. and in fig. context; ~ boues, the rounded portions of the yoke, shaped to conform to the animals’ necks; ~ stikke, ?a stick for driving yoked animals; leden (the) ~, to work in a yoke; (b) a team of draft animals harnessed in a yoke; also, a team of chariot horses; ~ of oxen (chares); (c) fig. the bonds of matrimony; also, the commitment to a religious vow; (d) an image, a model, or other representation of a yoke; (e) a yokelike topographical feature; specif. a ridge, height, or slope; ~ of the hille; (f) ~ wimble, ?an auger for boring holes in a yoke.

In extended senses;—sometimes used fig. or in fig. context: (a) discipline, control, or a restraining impulse; a restraint upon one’s behavior, attitudes, etc.; ~ of the laue; (b) the moral responsibility enjoined upon mankind by God, that self-control that God requires of humanity; (c) subjugation, bondage; thraldom, servitude; also, political or military oppression; under ~; (d) that which binds one to a fate or condition; an attachment to something; also, a heavy responsibility.

In surnames and place names [see Smith PNElem. 1.199].