n. 1. A rope sling for rolling cylindrical objects up or down an inclined plane. 2. A sling for raising or lowering an object vertically. tr.v. par·buck·led, par·buck·ling, par·buck·les To raise or lower with such a sling. [Alteration (influenced by BUCKLE) of Early Modern English parbunkel, probably a borrowing from a language of the North Sea region : par-, akin to Dutch paar and Danish and Norwegian par, pair (in reference to the paired loops of rope used to parbuckle barrels up an incline; ultimately from Latin pār, pair; see PAIR) + bunkel, perhaps meaning “loop” (of unknown origin).] |
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