From PIE *yugom (yoke), from *yewg- (to join) — one of the most securely reconstructed IE words.
A wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to a plow or cart; to join or unite; a burden or oppression.
From Old English 'geoc,' from Proto-Germanic *juką, from PIE *yugóm, a derivative of the root *yewg- meaning 'to join, yoke.' This is one of the most securely reconstructed PIE words, with cognates in virtually every IE branch: Latin 'iugum,' Greek 'zygon,' Sanskrit 'yugam,' Hittite 'yugan.' The word's extraordinary stability across languages and millennia reflects the central importance of the yoke in Indo-European agricultural life. Key
The word 'yoga' is a cousin of 'yoke.' Sanskrit 'yoga' (union, discipline) comes from the same PIE root *yewg- (to join). Yoga is, etymologically, a yoking — a discipline that joins body and mind, self and universe. The same root gives us 'zygote' (a joined cell, from Greek 'zygon') and 'conjugal' (yoked together