cowlstaff

colstaff

From Old French cuvele, from Latin cupela, diminutive of cupa (“cask”), + staff. cowl +‎ staff.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkaʊlstɑːf/

cowlstaff (plural cowlstaffs or cowlstaves)

1. A staff used to carry a cowl or other burden, especially held by two people on their shoulders.
   • 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC:

     [fight] performed by bastons, clubs and coulstaves

   • 1989, Elias Lönnrot, translated by Keith Bosley, The Kalevala, section XVII:

     Prepare an iron cowlstaff / obtain one of steel: / put steel at its core / and on top draw soft iron!