A yoke's a wooden beam which's used between a pair of oxen to allow them to pull a load (oxen almost always work in pairs). There're several types, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen. A pair of oxen's also called a yoke of oxen, and yoke's also used as a verb: "to yoke a pair of oxen". Etymology » See The word "yoke"'s believed to derive from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (yoke), from verb *yeug- (join, unite). This root has descendants in almost all known Indo-Europ… (More on Yoke)