whiffletree
a crossbar, pivoted at the middle, to which the traces of a harness are fastened for pulling a cart, carriage, plow, etc.
Origin of whiffletree
1- Also called whippletree, singletree, swingletree.
- Compare doubletree.
Words Nearby whiffletree
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use whiffletree in a sentence
The whiffletree would swing round and hit them, and when their collars were taken off, their necks would be raw and bloody.
Beautiful Joe | Marshall SaundersThis wore away at last and on the third day I had no difficulty in keeping up my end of the whiffletree.
A Son of the Middle Border | Hamlin GarlandTwelve “Swingle trees” (whippletree, whiffletree, singletree) are listed in the inventory.
The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia | C. Malcolm WatkinsPage 169, illustration caption: "probaby" changed to "probably" (b, chain, probably from whiffletree).
The Cultural History of Marlborough, Virginia | C. Malcolm WatkinsThe only way they feel comfortable is when harnessed with the face toward the whiffletree and their back to the end of the shafts.
Around The Tea-Table | T. De Witt Talmage
British Dictionary definitions for whiffletree
/ (ˈwɪfəlˌtriː) /
another name (esp US) for swingletree
Origin of whiffletree
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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