Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pinfold

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.52 in modern English

Syllables: pin-fold
IPA

13

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An open enclosure for animals, especially an area where stray animals were rounded up if their owners failed to properly supervise their use of common grazing land.

verb

To confine (animals) in a pinfold.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

"These drawing near the wood, where close ypent / The wicked sprites in sylvan pinfolds were […]"
"A little further along the road is the pinfold where stray animals were penned until claimed by their owners."

Etymology

From Middle English pinfold, punfold, punfald, variants of Middle English pundfold, pundfald, from Old English pundfald (“pinfold”), equivalent to pound (“pen, enclosure”) + fold.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: pinfold, pundfold, pundfald

Usage

Transitive verb

Inflected Forms

pinfolds (plural) penfold (alternative) pinfolds (present, singular) pinfolding (participle, present) pinfolded (participle, past) pinfolded (past)

Questions

What does pinfold mean?: An open enclosure for animals, especially an area where stray animals were rounded up if their owners failed to properly supervise their use of common grazing land.
Where does pinfold come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce pinfold

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