Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
un joug de boeuf
English translation:
ox yoke
Added to glossary by
Hervé du Verle
Apr 13, 2004 00:59
20 yrs ago
French term
un joug de boeuf
French to English
Other
Folklore
traditional practices for the sick
strange usage
article on euthanasia - how some regions "shock" dying patients into death:
Dans le Limousin, on lui pose un joug de boeuf sur le front."
article on euthanasia - how some regions "shock" dying patients into death:
Dans le Limousin, on lui pose un joug de boeuf sur le front."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +8 | ox yoke |
Hervé du Verle
|
| 3 +1 | yoke |
Charlie Bavington
|
| 4 | COMMENT |
Tony M
|
| 3 | yoke harness |
Louise Dupont (X)
|
Proposed translations
+8
56 mins
Hervé du Verle
Native in French
23 yrs in French medical edition
Native in: French (Variant: Canadian) 
Works in: English to French, French to English, English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
ox yoke
Once I read the paper, and unless the journalist made a mistake... there is no doubt and I suppose that 60 lbs on the head won't help an old patient to get up...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Vicky Papaprodromou
3 mins
|
|
thanks Vicky
|
|
| agree |
Charlie Bavington
: yep, or just "yoke" might do it (see below). I share you view that chucking half a tree at someone is unlikely to hasten recovery....:-)
21 mins
|
|
But can someone chuck a yolk on an egghead?
|
|
| agree |
Jean-Luc Dumont
: used in some rites mortuaires - seems that they prefer the head yoke to the neck yoke
1 hr
|
|
and in some islands, they prefer the yoke o' laylay... sorry for that... getting late...
|
|
| agree |
proffi
3 hrs
|
| agree |
Tony M
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Graham macLachlan
4 hrs
|
| agree |
Simon Mountifield
5 hrs
|
| agree |
Hacene
: tout simplement
11 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to everyone - sorry it took me so long...the yoke o'laylay really got me. It was just too obvious - I kept thinking they were talking about meat!"
55 mins
yoke harness
selon le GDT
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Note added at 56 mins (2004-04-13 01:55:52 GMT)
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I also found neck yoke
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Note added at 56 mins (2004-04-13 01:55:52 GMT)
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I also found neck yoke
+1
1 hr
Charlie Bavington
Native in English
Hassle-free translations for busy people
Native in: English
Works in: French to English
yoke
Rita, mate - do you have any particular reason to think this is not quite literally a "yoke"?
'Cos "joug de boeuf" just seems to me to be a more longwinded way of saying "joug" tout court - as if anybody is going to put a yoke on a goat or a hamster or whatever, but there you go....!
Anyway, couple of biblical equivalents for you - JdeB seems a *relatively* common term in French biblical texts when English just has "yoke" e.f. for Matthew 11, v 29 :
http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/bernard/tome05/gill...
and
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/GillsExpositionofthe...
(of course, there may be no biblical element to this at all, just seemed a possibility!)
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Note added at 1 hr 34 mins (2004-04-13 02:33:44 GMT)
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Not sure how this would \'help\' in the circumstances you describe, other than in some judeo-christian imagery way I can\'t quite see either at 3.30 a.m. - a sort of extra bit to the last rites under these circumstances.
The alternative - that it is quite literally the weight of the yoke which is meant to achieve the desired effect - seems pretty gruesome.
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Note added at 1 hr 44 mins (2004-04-13 02:43:37 GMT)
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Unless it\'s a (regional?) name for a herb or something they use to poison the person....?
'Cos "joug de boeuf" just seems to me to be a more longwinded way of saying "joug" tout court - as if anybody is going to put a yoke on a goat or a hamster or whatever, but there you go....!
Anyway, couple of biblical equivalents for you - JdeB seems a *relatively* common term in French biblical texts when English just has "yoke" e.f. for Matthew 11, v 29 :
http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/bernard/tome05/gill...
and
http://bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/GillsExpositionofthe...
(of course, there may be no biblical element to this at all, just seemed a possibility!)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 34 mins (2004-04-13 02:33:44 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Not sure how this would \'help\' in the circumstances you describe, other than in some judeo-christian imagery way I can\'t quite see either at 3.30 a.m. - a sort of extra bit to the last rites under these circumstances.
The alternative - that it is quite literally the weight of the yoke which is meant to achieve the desired effect - seems pretty gruesome.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr 44 mins (2004-04-13 02:43:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Unless it\'s a (regional?) name for a herb or something they use to poison the person....?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
sarahl (X)
: yup, yoke.
1 hr
|
5 hrs
COMMENT
I entirely agree with the other answerers' suggestions of '(ox) yoke', but just wanted to add my little bit of local info, as I live in the Limousin and actually have 2 of these in my barn!
We would usually think of it as just a yoke, of course, but do remember that yokes were also used by people (milkmaids with churns, etc.) and also for donkeys (and I guess draught horses too, though these would have been rarer in our region)
As to the wood used, I get the impression it's smooth and fine-grained, but I don't think it's oak (even though that is very common wood here). Mine have woodworm, which suggest it's not chestnut either; I wondered maybe about beech, or perhaps false acacia (both commonly-used woods today)
A double (and in my case, adjustable) yoke for oxen is quite a huge and weighty affair, but like the other answerers, I can't really imagine why it would be used, unless symbolically --- maybe it's considered very bad luck to carry the yoke yourself (i.e. you're too poor to afford the oxen); or maybe the idea is that life is a burden, that one would be eager to shake off... Or maybe it's just to make sure you're never going to get up again!
I'll ask my elderly neighbour if she's heard of this practice.
We would usually think of it as just a yoke, of course, but do remember that yokes were also used by people (milkmaids with churns, etc.) and also for donkeys (and I guess draught horses too, though these would have been rarer in our region)
As to the wood used, I get the impression it's smooth and fine-grained, but I don't think it's oak (even though that is very common wood here). Mine have woodworm, which suggest it's not chestnut either; I wondered maybe about beech, or perhaps false acacia (both commonly-used woods today)
A double (and in my case, adjustable) yoke for oxen is quite a huge and weighty affair, but like the other answerers, I can't really imagine why it would be used, unless symbolically --- maybe it's considered very bad luck to carry the yoke yourself (i.e. you're too poor to afford the oxen); or maybe the idea is that life is a burden, that one would be eager to shake off... Or maybe it's just to make sure you're never going to get up again!
I'll ask my elderly neighbour if she's heard of this practice.
Discussion