Yoke

[1][2] This root has descendants in almost all known Indo-European languages including German Joch, Latin iugum, Ancient Greek ζυγόν (zygon), Persian یوغ (yuğ), Sanskrit युग (yugá), Hittite 𒄿𒌑𒃷 (iúkan), Old Church Slavonic иго (igo), Lithuanian jungas, Old Irish cuing, and Armenian լուծ (luts), all meaning "yoke".

A bow yoke /ˈboʊ/ is a shaped wooden crosspiece bound to the necks of a pair of oxen (or occasionally to horses).

A swivel between the animals, beneath the centre of the yoke, attaches to the pole of a vehicle or to chains (traces) used to drag a load.

A single-beam head yoke may offer better braking ability on downhill grades and appears to be preferred in rugged mountainous areas such as Switzerland, Spain and parts of Italy.

Whichever type is used, various lengths of yoke may be required for different agricultural implements or to adjust to different crop-row spacings.

Oxen are normally worked in pairs, but water buffalo in Asian countries are commonly used singly, with the aid of a bow-shaped withers yoke.

The metaphor can also refer to the state of being linked or chained together by contract or marriage, similar to a pair of oxen.

[9] In the Ancient Greek play The Persians by Aeschylus (5th century BC) it also makes an appearance.