cowlstaff
English
Etymology
Old French cuvele, from Latin cupela, diminutive of cupa (“cask”), + staff. cowl + staff.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈkaʊlstɑːf/
Noun
cowlstaff (plural cowlstaffs or cowlstaves)
- A staff used to carry a cowl or other burden, especially held by two people on their shoulders.
- 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, →OCLC:
- [fight] performed by bastons, clubs and coulstaves
- 1989, Elias Lönnrot, translated by Keith Bosley, The Kalevala, section XVII:
- Prepare an iron cowlstaff / obtain one of steel: / put steel at its core / and on top draw soft iron!
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