coffle

[ kaw-fuhl, kof-uhl ]

noun

1. a line of animals, prisoners, or slaves chained and driven along together.

verb (used with object)

, cof·fled, cof·fling.

1. to chain in a coffle.

coffle

/ ˈkɒfəl /

noun

1. (esp formerly) a line of slaves, beasts, etc, fastened together

Word History and Origins

Origin of coffle¹

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Arabic qāfilah “caravan, company of travelers”

Word History and Origins

Origin of coffle¹

C18: from Arabic qāfilah caravan

Example Sentences

Joe Turney transported Black prisoners, chained in a coffle, along the roads from Memphis to the Tennessee State Penitentiary in Nashville.

From Salon

Steve Coffle, owner of Helix Rotation Services in Atlanta, which cleans Airbnbs and other private rentals, said he told his contract employees he would try to help them out as the $80-a-gig jobs evaporated.

From New York Times

Betts subtly and deftly deploys the word “coffle” to connect life on the inside to the brutal history of slavery: “the corridors / before him are as long / as the Atlantic, each cell / a wave threatening / to coffle him,” wherein “coffle” refers to the practice of fastening slaves together by ropes or chains.

From New York Times

When the boy is suddenly sold, his mother walks alongside the coffle, weeping in anguish.

From New York Times

These newcomers patrol the coast like abolitionist avengers, superpowering their way through every coffle and barracoon they encounter.

From New York Times