pinfold

American  

[pin-fohld] / ˈpɪnˌfoʊld /

noun

1. a pound for stray animals.

2. a fold, as for sheep or cattle.

3. a place of confinement or restraint.

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verb (used with object)

1. to confine in or as in a pinfold.

pinfold British  

/ ˈpɪnˌfəʊld /

noun

1. 1. a pound for stray cattle

   2. a fold or pen for sheep or cattle

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verb

1. (tr) to gather or confine in or as if in a pinfold

Etymology

Origin of pinfold

1150–1200; late Middle English pynfold for *pindfold, equivalent to Old English pynd ( an ) to impound (derivative of pund pound ³ ) + fold ²; replacing Middle English po ( u ) n ( d ) fold ( e ), late Old English pundfald

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pinfold

They hunted, an' they hollo'd, an' the next thing they did find Was a bull-calf in a pinfold, an' that too they left behind.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 105 September 23, 1893 by Various

Its earlier meaning is to hamper or entangle— "Confined and pestered in this pinfold here."

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Ernest Weekley

I have seen, on a mountain near Callendar, a sort of pinfold, composed of immense rocks, piled upon each other, which, I was told, was anciently constructed for the above-mentioned purpose.

From Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Volume 2 Consisting of Historical and Romantic Ballads, Collected in The Southern Counties of Scotland; with a Few of Modern Date, Founded Upon Local Tradition by Sir Walter Scott

With shrilling bleat for comfort hie To every pinfold, humankind; Ah, there the fostering teat is dry, The stranger mother proves unkind.

From The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume I. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century by Charles Rogers

Oaths were not purpos'd, more than law, To keep the good and just in awe, But to confine the bad and sinful, Like moral cattle, in a pinfold.

From Handy Dictionary of Poetical Quotations by Various

Related Words

• crate
• enclosure
• jail
• pen