Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Same as
whiffle tree .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The pivoted or swinging bar to which the traces, or tugs, of a harness are fastened, and by which a carriage, a plow, or other implement or vehicle, is drawn; a whiffletree; a swingletree; a singletree. See
Singletree . - noun (Bot.) The cornel tree.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun a wooden
crossbar for aplough orcarriage , pivoted in the middle, from whichtraces are fastened to adraught animal
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a crossbar that is attached to the traces of a draft horse and to the vehicle or implement that the horse is pulling
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Perhaps blend of dialectal whippin, whippletree and swingletree.]
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Examples
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The colter needed sharpening and there was a crack in the whippletree.
The Boat of a Million Years Anderson, Poul, 1926- 1989
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The colter needed sharpening and there was a crack in the whippletree.
The Boat of a Million Years Anderson, Poul, 1926- 1988
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After three quarters of an hour or so I was suddenly startled alert by hearing the squeak-squeak of a whippletree out on the lawn.
The Four Pools Mystery Jean Webster 1896
Comments
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