parbuckle

[pahr-buhk-uh l]

noun

a kind of tackle for raising or lowering a cask or similar object along an inclined plane or a vertical surface, consisting of a rope looped over a post or the like, with its two ends passing around the object to be moved.

a kind of double sling made with a rope, as around a cask to be raised or lowered.

verb (used with object), par·buck·led, par·buck·ling.

to raise, lower, or move with a parbuckle.

Nearby words

Origin of parbuckle

First recorded in 1620–30; earlier parbunkel, of uncertain origin

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

Examples from the Web for parbuckle

Techniques used to “parbuckle” or pull the giant ship upright last September have set the standard in maritime salvage.
Two Years On, Costa Concordia Remains the Wreck Italy Can’t Forget|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was a hearty assent, as Syd said to himself, “What does he mean by ‘parbuckle’?”
Syd Belton|George Manville Fenn
“We must pass straps round this, and parbuckle him up,” he observed.
Adrift in a Boat|W.H.G. Kingston
A light yarding or a land clearing donkey furnishes the power to parbuckle the logs into the water.
Motor Truck Logging Methods|Frederick Malcolm Knapp

Mr. Parbuckle, he ordered me to pacify 'em, an' I was a-doin' the best I could.
Woven with the Ship|Cyrus Townsend Brady

British Dictionary definitions for parbuckle

parbuckle

noun

a rope sling for lifting or lowering a heavy cylindrical object, such as a cask or tree trunk

verb

(tr) to raise or lower (an object) with such a sling

Word Origin for parbuckle

C17 parbunkel: of uncertain origin

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