1. chains or lines of enslaved people, prisoners, or animals fastened together for transport
Usage: historical; often refers to the slave trade

Examples

• Historical records describe coffles of enslaved people being marched to markets.
• The museum exhibit showed how coffles were used during the Atlantic slave trade.
• Coffles of prisoners were transported across the territory.
• The documentary depicted the harsh conditions of coffles in the 19th century.
• Abolitionists wrote about the cruelty of coffles in their pamphlets.