doubletree

American  

[duhb-uhl-tree] / ˈdʌb əlˌtri /

noun

1. a pivoted bar with a whiffletree attached to each end, used in harnessing two horses abreast.

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doubletree British  

/ ˈdʌbəlˌtriː /

noun

1. a horizontal pivoted bar on a vehicle to the ends of which swingletrees are attached for harnessing two horses side by side

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Etymology

Origin of doubletree

1840–50, modeled on singletree

Example Sentences

The horses had jerked the doubletree loose, and the last he had seen of their marks they had turned up the Bald Hill road and were probably going yet.

From The Early Bird A Business Man's Love Story by Brown, Arthur William

Three horses drew the plow, which has three singletrees and one doubletree.

From Agricultural Implements and Machines in the Collection of the National Museum of History and Technology Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, No. 17 by Schlebecker, John T.

The doubletree served as a lever on which to mount two singletrees.

From Agricultural Implements and Machines in the Collection of the National Museum of History and Technology Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, No. 17 by Schlebecker, John T.

They had wanted to bolt straight out across the rocky upland and splinter the doubletree, and perhaps smash a wheel or two, and then stand and 181 kick gleefully at the wreck.

From Rim o' the World by Fischer, Anton Otto

The arms of the tongue are connected by a crossbar, to which the doubletree is pivoted by a hammer bolt.

From Scientific American, Vol. XXXVII.?No. 2. [New Series.], July 14, 1877 A Weekly Journal Of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, And Manufactures by Various