A harness or rope worn on the head of an animal, particularly a horse, for leading and controlling it.
From Old English 'heafod-líne,' a combination of 'head' and an element meaning 'line' or 'rope.' This is a dialectal or archaic variant of 'halter.'
The word 'headle' is mostly obsolete now, but it's related to 'halter'—and both are still used in horseback riding, proving that some 1,000-year-old technology for controlling animals just works.
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