coffle

[ kaw-fuh l, kof-uh l ]

/ ˈkɔ fəl, ˈkɒf əl /

noun

a line of animals, prisoners, or slaves chained and driven along together.

verb (used with object), cof·fled, cof·fling.

to chain in a coffle.

Nearby words

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for coffle

One of the slaves, it seems, had hurt his foot, and the night being very dark they soon lost sight of the coffle.
Travels in the Interior of Africa, Vol. 2 [of 2]|Mungo Park
I found him sitting in his baloon, surrounded by several slatees who proposed to join the coffle.
Travels in the Interior of Africa, Vol. 2 [of 2]|Mungo Park
The overseer had bought some slaves at Selma, from a drove or coffle passing through the place.
The Anti-Slavery Examiner, Omnibus|American Anti-Slavery Society
Her load was taken from her and given to another slave, and she was ordered to keep in the front of the coffle.
Travels in the Interior of Africa, Vol. 2 [of 2]|Mungo Park

He was not only walking by the Broadway coffle, he was creeping by.
Literature and Life|William Dean Howells

British Dictionary definitions for coffle

coffle

/ (ˈkɒfəl) /

noun

(esp formerly) a line of slaves, beasts, etc, fastened together

Word Origin for coffle

C18: from Arabic qāfilah caravan

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012