coffle
(redirected from coffling)cof·fle
(kô′fəl, kŏf′əl)n.
A group of animals, prisoners, or slaves chained together in a line.
tr.v. cof·fled, cof·fling, cof·fles
To fasten together in a coffle.
[Arabic qāfila, caravan, feminine active participle of qafala, to close, return; see qpl in Semitic roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
coffle
(ˈkɒfəl)n
(esp formerly) a line of slaves, beasts, etc, fastened together
[C18: from Arabic qāfilah caravan]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Coffle
a train of slaves or of beasts driven along together.Examples: coffle of asses, 1799; of beasts; of horses, 1873; of slaves, 1799.
Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.