The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Neck \Neck\ (n[e^]k), n. [OE. necke, AS. hnecca; akin to D. nek
the nape of the neck, G. nacken, OHG. nacch, hnacch, Icel.
hnakki, Sw. nacke, Dan. nakke.]
1. The part of an animal which connects the head and the
trunk, and which, in man and many other animals, is more
slender than the trunk.
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2. Any part of an inanimate object corresponding to or
resembling the neck of an animal; as:
(a) The long slender part of a vessel, as a retort, or of
a fruit, as a gourd.
(b) A long narrow tract of land projecting from the main
body, or a narrow tract connecting two larger tracts.
(c) (Mus.) That part of a violin, guitar, or similar
instrument, which extends from the head to the body,
and on which is the finger board or fret board.
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3. (Mech.) A reduction in size near the end of an object,
formed by a groove around it; as, a neck forming the
journal of a shaft.
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4. (Bot.) the point where the base of the stem of a plant
arises from the root.
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Neck and crop, completely; wholly; altogether; roughly and
at once. [Colloq.]
Neck and neck (Racing), so nearly equal that one cannot be
said to be before the other; very close; even; side by
side.
Neck of a capital. (Arch.) See Gorgerin.
Neck of a cascabel (Gun.), the part joining the knob to the
base of the breech.
Neck of a gun, the small part of the piece between the
chase and the swell of the muzzle.
Neck of a tooth (Anat.), the constriction between the root
and the crown.
Neck or nothing (Fig.), at all risks.
Neck verse.
(a) The verse formerly read to entitle a party to the
benefit of clergy, said to be the first verse of the
fifty-first Psalm, "Miserere mei," etc. --Sir W.
Scott.
(b) Hence, a verse or saying, the utterance of which
decides one's fate; a shibboleth.
These words, "bread and cheese," were their neck
verse or shibboleth to distinguish them; all
pronouncing "broad and cause," being presently
put to death. --Fuller.
Neck yoke.
(a) A bar by which the end of the tongue of a wagon or
carriage is suspended from the collars of the
harnesses.
(b) A device with projecting arms for carrying things (as
buckets of water or sap) suspended from one's
shoulders.
On the neck of, immediately after; following closely; on
the heel of. "Committing one sin on the neck of another."
--W. Perkins.
Stiff neck, obstinacy in evil or wrong; inflexible
obstinacy; contumacy. "I know thy rebellion, and thy stiff
neck." --Deut. xxxi. 27.
To break the neck of, to destroy the main force of; to
break the back of. "What they presume to borrow from her
sage and virtuous rules . . . breaks the neck of their own
cause." --Milton.
To harden the neck, to grow obstinate; to be more and more
perverse and rebellious. --Neh. ix. 17.
To tread on the neck of, to oppress; to tyrannize over.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Yoke \Yoke\ (y[=o]k), n. [OE. yok, [yogh]oc, AS. geoc; akin to
D. juk, OHG. joh, G. joch, Icel. & Sw. ok, Dan. aag, Goth.
juk, Lith. jungas, Russ. igo, L. jugum, Gr. zy`gon, Skr.
yuga, and to L. jungere to join, Gr. ?, Skr. yui. [root]109,
280. Cf. Join, Jougs, Joust, Jugular, Subjugate,
Syzygy, Yuga, Zeugma.]
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1. A bar or frame of wood by which two oxen are joined at the
heads or necks for working together.
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A yearling bullock to thy name shall smoke,
Untamed, unconscious of the galling yoke. --Pope.
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Note: The modern yoke for oxen is usually a piece of timber
hollowed, or made curving, near each end, and laid on
the necks of the oxen, being secured in place by two
bows, one inclosing each neck, and fastened through the
timber. In some countries the yoke consists of a flat
piece of wood fastened to the foreheads of the oxen by
thongs about the horns.
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2. A frame or piece resembling a yoke, as in use or shape.
Specifically:
(a) A frame of wood fitted to a person's shoulders for
carrying pails, etc., suspended on each side; as, a
milkmaid's yoke.
(b) A frame worn on the neck of an animal, as a cow, a
pig, a goose, to prevent passage through a fence.
(c) A frame or convex piece by which a bell is hung for
ringing it. See Illust. of Bell.
(d) A crosspiece upon the head of a boat's rudder. To its
ends lines are attached which lead forward so that the
boat can be steered from amidships.
(e) (Mach.) A bent crosspiece connecting two other parts.
(f) (Arch.) A tie securing two timbers together, not used
for part of a regular truss, but serving a temporary
purpose, as to provide against unusual strain.
(g) (Dressmaking) A band shaped to fit the shoulders or
the hips, and joined to the upper full edge of the
waist or the skirt.
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3. Fig.: That which connects or binds; a chain; a link; a
bond connection.
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Boweth your neck under that blissful yoke . . .
Which that men clepeth spousal or wedlock.
--Chaucer.
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This yoke of marriage from us both remove. --Dryden.
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4. A mark of servitude; hence, servitude; slavery; bondage;
service.
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Our country sinks beneath the yoke. --Shak.
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My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. --Matt. xi.
30.
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5. Two animals yoked together; a couple; a pair that work
together.
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I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove
them. --Luke xiv.
19.
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6. The quantity of land plowed in a day by a yoke of oxen.
[Obs.] --Gardner.
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7. A portion of the working day; as, to work two yokes, that
is, to work both portions of the day, or morning and
afternoon. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
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8. (Chiefly Mach.) A clamp or similar piece that embraces two
other parts to hold or unite them in their respective or
relative positions, as a strap connecting a slide valve to
the valve stem, or the soft iron block or bar permanently
connecting the pole pieces of an electromagnet, as in a
dynamo.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Neck yoke, Pig yoke. See under Neck, and Pig.
Yoke elm (Bot.), the European hornbeam (Carpinus
Betulus), a small tree with tough white wood, often used
for making yokes for cattle.
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