harness

▪ I. harness, n.
    (ˈhɑːnɪs)
    Forms: 3–5 harnais, 4 hernis, 4–5 harnays, hernays, -eys, oys, -es, 4–6 harnes, 4–7 her-, harneis(e, -eys(e, 5 har-, hernas, harnysse, harnoys, 5–7 harnesse, 4– harness (6 -ys, -iss, -ass, 6–7 -ish, 7 -ois, -ace). See also irness.
    [ME., a. OF. harneis, -ois (her-), mod.F. harnais (Picard harnas), whence also Pr., Sp. arnes, Pg. arnez, It. arnese, med.L. (h)arnesium, har-, hernasium, harnascha, harnasch (neuter). Ulterior origin uncertain: the OF. derived vb. harnesquier, -eschier, shows that harneis represented an earlier *harnesc, L. type *harniscum. From the Fr. came also MHG. harnesch, -nasch, -nas (12th c.), Ger. harnisch masc.; MDu. harnas(ch), Du. harnas neut.; Icel. harneskja fem.
    Often assumed to be of Celtic origin, on the strength of mod. Breton harnez, hernez, (1) old iron, (2) harness, cuirass (Le Gonidec), compared with mod. Welsh haiarn iron (OW. hearn, OIr. iarn:—Proto-Celtic *isarno-). But Thurneysen, Keltoromanisches 36, points out fatal difficulties, phonetic and chronological. Breton harnez (in this sense) is prob. from French.
    In the obscurity that surrounds the origin of the word, the primary sense and the order of sense-development remain uncertain. Several specific uses appear in Engl. about the same time; and the arrangement here followed is provisional. It seems probable that a general sense of ‘equipment, furniture, outfit, gear, tackle’, is the original.]
    1. Tackle, gear, furniture, armament; the equipment or mounting of any thing; e.g. of a ship, a fishing-rod, the metal-work of a girdle, etc. (obs.). Still used of the mechanism by which a large bell is suspended and rung.

[1294 Rolls of Parlt. I. 128/2 Harnesia ad navem illam spectantia. 1333–4 Durham MS. Cell. Roll, In..emendacione hernes del fyschors'. 1423 Act 2 Hen. VI, c. 17 Null Orfeour ne Juellour nautre homme qe oepere harneis dargent.] a 1450 Fysshynge w. Angle (1883) 6 Ye muste furst lurne to mak ȝowr harnes þat ys to sey your rod your lynys..& your hokes. 1483–4 Act 1 Rich. III, c. 12 No..maner Gurdels nor eny Harnes wrought for Gurdels. 1530 Palsgr. 229 Harnesse for a gyrdelle, ferreure. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 11 A bastard Galley of three and thirty banks..and adorning her with double harnesse, tackling and furniture.

    2. a. The defensive or body armour of a man-at-arms or foot-soldier; all the defensive equipment of an armed horseman, for both man and horse; military equipment or accoutrement. Hist. or arch.

c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 309 Norreis & Surreis..With hors & herneis at Carlele mad samnyng. a 1450 Golagros & Gaw. 566 All the harnes thai hade, Baith birny and breist-plade. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xl, Youre harneis & horses haue ben fayre and clene kepte. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. i. 2 To make harnoys of yron and steel. 1535 Coverdale 1 Kings xx. 11 Let not him y{supt} putteth on y⊇ harnes make his boast like him y{supt} hath put it of. 1581 Savile Tacitus' Hist. i. lxxix. (1591) 44 A kind of harnish..composed of iron plates or stiffe bend-lether. 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. v. 52 Ring the Alarum Bell, blow Winde, come wracke, At least wee'l dye with Harnesse on our backe. 1606 Holland Sueton. Annot. 5 Enoplia was a kinde of Moriske daunce after a warlike manner in harnois. 1611 Bible 1 Kings xxii. 34 A certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel betweene the ioynts of the harnesse. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 219 Old Knights-errant in their Harness fought. 1852 Longfellow Warden Cinque Ports xi, A single warrior, In sombre harness mailed.

fig. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. xi. (Arb.) 46 Good hope thy legge harneys shall be. 1558 Bp. Watson Sev. Sacram. i. 2 Christe..hath armed vs with a seuen fold harnes, that is to say, with the seuen giftes of the holy gost. 1607 Rowlands Famous Hist. 54 What scales of Harness arm that crooked nose And teeth? 1835 Lytton Rienzi iii. iii, Men who win power, easily put on its harness, dignity. 1857 Lawrence Guy Liv. iv. 35 To watch him in his training, and spy out the joints in his harness. [Cf. 1611 above].

    b. Phrase, to harness: cf. to arms.

1475 Bk. Noblesse 69 Alle the comyns..[stode] sodanly to harneys and rebelled ayenst the duc of Exetyr. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VII, 42 b, Cryes were made, every man to harneys.

    c. With a: A suit of mail: see quot. 1559.

c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 44 Many fayr harneyses shynyng. 1548 Act 2 & 3 Edw. VI, c. 2 Preamb., Souldiors well furnished with good Horses and Harnesses. 1559 Lanc. Wills I. 153 My soune..shall have one harnys that ys to saye a plate coote or jacke a sallett a payre of speutes and a halbert. 1720 Strype Stow's Surv. (1754) II. v. xxxi. 566/2 Such able men as had white Harnesses. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth iii, Had the laird not wanted a harness.

    † d. transf. pl. Men in harness; men-at-arms.

? a 1400 Arthur 314 Than hadde he out of Normandye..Fowre skore þowsand harneys.

    e. (See quot. 1940.) Also called ignition harness.

1938 R. Keen Wireless Direction Finding (ed. 3) xiii. 523 To reduce the capacity of the screening of the cables, and to avoid the bulk and inconvenience of large numbers of separately screened leads, the whole wiring system of an engine may be built into a unit known as ‘screening harness’. Fig. 405 shows such a harness..for a Bristol ‘Pegasus’ radial engine. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 404/1 Harness, the entire system of screened ignition leads enclosed within their screening tubes to prevent electro⁓magnetic radiation from affecting the radio-receiving equipment. 1956 W. A. Heflin U.S.A.F. Dict. 262/2 Ignition harness, a system or assembly of wires, together with any shielding or conduits inclosing them, for conducting electric current from the distributor to the spark plugs of an aircraft engine.

    † 3. The baggage or portable equipment of an army, a party of travellers, etc. Obs.

a 1300 Cursor M. 11642 Bath ass and ox at wit þam war, And bestes þat þair harnais [v. rr. hernays, harneis] bar. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 236 Þis burgeis..Þe may & hir herneis did led vnto þe kyng. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1748 Oure harneys comeþ her be-hynde wiþ to hundred men araid. c 1400 Rom. Rose 7477 Whan the pilgrymes commen were..Hir harneis nigh hem was algate.

    4. a. The trappings or accoutrements of a horse: formerly including those used in riding, but now confined to the gear or tackle of a draught horse or other animal. ‘The traces of draught horses, particularly of carriages of pleasure or state: of other carriages we say geer’ (J.). double harness, harness for two draught horses working side by side; single harness, harness for a draught horse working alone; in harness, side by side, together. Often fig.

1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4599 To wynne hors and harnyse. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4281 No seg vnder heuene..araiȝed more beter..Of hors & of harneys & alle oþer gere. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3664 Þe sadel..With gold was fret and pretious ston, and þe harneys was of golde. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 228/1 Harneys for hors, falere. 1463 Bury Wills (Camden) 34 My beste hors with sadil and brydil, with alle the beste harneys for oon hors longyng therto. 1530 Palsgr. 229/2 Harnesse for the plough horse, harnoys de cherue. 1600 Holland Livy xxxix. xxxi. 1043 C. Calpurnius..highly praised the horsemen, and rewarded them with rich harnish and trappings. 1636 Davenant Witts Wks. (1673) 215 Another Coach it drives from the Strand! Then have at the Harnace. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 336/1 Horses are fastned by their Harnish..to draw the Coach. 1743 Boston Post-Boy 28 Nov. 4/1 Advt., A fine open chariot, with the harnesses for two horses. 1824 R. Stuart Hist. Steam Engine 22 It then bears itself quietly under the harness, (like good horses). 1834 Medwin Angler in Wales II. 39 Wild horses..which had never before been in harness. 1838 Lexington Observer & Rep. 2 June, We soon hitch'd traces to trot in double harness. 1846 R. Ford Gatherings from Spain viii. 88 Those who have a friend with whom they feel they can venture to go in double harness, had better do so. 1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib., Brit. II. No. 4732 Double and single harness, pads, collars, round reins, pole pieces. 1873 ‘Mark Twain’ & Warner Gilded Age 373 He and I are sworn brothers on that measure; we work in harness. 1901 ‘M. Gray’ Four-Leaved Clover i, And it's about time you went in double harness. I go better in single. To confess the solid truth, I was born an old maid. 1907 G. B. Shaw John Bull's Other Island i. 20 In the main it is by living with you and working in double harness with you that I have learnt to live in a real world and not in an imaginary one. 1937 D. L. Sayers Busman's Honeymoon vii. 152 It was her own feelings that didn't seem to be quite pulling in double harness with her intelligence. 1967 Listener 2 Feb. 177/3 Prokofiev enthusiasts will be delighted to see that Milstein has now recorded the two violin concertos in harnesss.

    b. fig. Working equipments; the conditions, routine, and obligations of regular work. in harness, in the routine of daily work; to die in harness, i.e. in the midst of work.

1841 Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. ii, In early times, before we were well in harness. 1841 Emerson Lect., Man the Reformer Wks. (Bohn) II. 237 He must..take on him the harness of routine and obsequiousness. 1868 Holme Lee B. Godfrey xvii. 101 Queer pair to run i' harness. 1871 L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. xii. (1894) 279 After a holiday, the day on which we resume harness joins on to the day on which we dropped it. 1875 Hamerton Intell. Life x. vii. 371 The finest intellects have never lived in harness. 1875 [see die v. 3]. 1883 S. C. Hall Retrospect I. 193 Palmerston..died, as he had lived, in harness, working to the last. 1889 Baring-Gould Pennycomequicks II. xviii. 26 If you insist on going into harness at once, in two years I shall be attending your funeral.

    c. From their resemblance to the harness of a horse (see sense 4 a above): straps so arranged that they can be fitted for the protection of travellers in an aeroplane or car. Also used of straps fitted (a) on a dog, instead of a collar; (b) on a parachute; (c) in a perambulator; (d) round a child and held by an adult as a safety lead or leash. Also called safety harness.

1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 484/2 Pug dog harness, black or russet leather. 1897 H. Dalziel Brit. Dogs (ed. 2) III. 43 A kind of dog-harness to mitigate the evils of..choking by the collar. 1935 C. G. Burge Compl. Bk. Aviation 538/1 Safety belts and safety harness have been specially designed for use in aircraft... Harness must hold the wearer firmly in his seat against upward accelerations. 1939 Sewing Machine & Pram Gaz., Buyers' Guide Apr. 30 (caption) This firm have a very wide selection of reins and safety belts... A typical model of Safety harness is illustrated. 1945 C. H. Ward-Jackson Piece of Cake (ed. 2) 38 Harness, strap holding one to one's seat in an aircraft. 1951 Gloss. Aeronaut. Terms (B.S.I.) iii. 13 Harness, an assembly of straps or cords worn by a parachutist or employed to suspend an inanimate load to which the parachute is attached. 1962 Times 23 Jan. 5/6 Every approved harness [in a motor-car] has a quick-release catch. 1962 Which? Jan. 8/1 The buckles of the three harnesses that survived the test crash intact were easy to release. 1963 B.S.I. News May 34 Safety harness for babies... The types dealt with will be suitable for attachment to perambulators, push chairs and high chairs. Provision will also be made for use of reins with the harness, when the child is able to walk. 1971 J. Philips Escape a Killer (1972) i. ii. 24 She unbuckled the dog's harness. 1972 P. Cleife Slick & Dead xviii. 233 Tripping the quick-release of my harness, I leapt from my seat.

    5. † a. Household and personal equipment; furniture; apparel. Obs.

1340 Ayenb. 24 Þe diȝtinge of his house wyþ eyse of loste, and oþre manere harneys. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1582 William..wel him a-tyred Gayli in cloþes of gold & oþer gode harneis. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 228/1 Harneys, or hustylment (K. instrumentys longynge to howsolde), utensile. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xl. 159 (Harl. MS.) She dude of hir harnes, and come, and laye downe by him. 1511 Yatton Churchw. Acc. (Somerset Rec. Soc.) 131 Of Iohn Gurnan for y⊇ Church harnes. 1602 W. Fulbecke Pandectes 47 They had about their harneys certaine yron buttons.

    b. Uniform, clothes. harness bull, harness cop, a policeman in uniform. U.S. slang (chiefly criminals').

1891 ‘Mark Twain’ What is Man? (1917) 225 At the Metropolitan in New York they sit in a glare, and wear their showiest harness. 1899 B. W. Green Word-bk. Virginia Folk-Speech 178 Harness,..clothing, dress garments. 1903 A. H. Lewis Boss 262 [The] Captain sends along a couple of his harness bulls from Mulberry Street. 1914 Jackson & Hellyer Vocab. Criminal Slang 42 Harness, general currency. A uniform... A ‘harness bull’ is the commonest form of the term's use. 1926 J. Black You can't Win iv. 31 The ‘harness cop’ who had been at the front door went back to his beat. Ibid. xii. 165 We're bang up against the city prison when a big, flat-footed, harness bull steps out an' yaffles us. 1930 E. H. Lavine Third Degree ii. 12 ‘Wise detectives’, who dread going back into ‘harness’, or uniform,..sail along the lines of least resistance. 1931 ‘D. Stiff’ Milk & Honey Route iv. 45 Any harness bull can tell you where the municipal lodging house..is to be found. 1972 J. Godey Three Worlds (1973) iii. 32 The cops. From the chief on down to the harness bulls.

    6. The apparatus in a loom by which the sets of warp-threads are shifted alternately to form the shed; the mounting.

1572 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 341 That every weaver have in his house or shop from the summe of 16 bores to the summe of 700 harneyses and slayes, 3 beares betweene every harnys. 1826 in Patents for Invent. (1861) 88 (Weaving) These healds or harness, when complete, are formed by what I shall term double perfect loops. 1831 G. R. Porter Silk Manuf. 216 Heddles, which are commonly called the harness of the loom. 1836 Ure Cotton Manuf. (1861) II. 224 The harness of the draw-loom is not confined by leaves but every cord carries a mail or loop for the warp. 1888 Eggleston in Century Mag. XXXVI. 529/2 When Barbara had tied a broken string in the ‘harness’ of the loom, she resumed her seat on the bench.

    † 7. Privy members. Also, privy harness. Obs.

1382 Wyclif Gen. ix. 22 The privey herneis of his father. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 136 Euery wight..That hath swich harneys as I of tolde. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 453 Þere [in Nysa] men heleþ her prive herneys wiþ þynne leves. 15.. Frere & Boye in Ritson Anc. Pop. P. (1791) 45 Unnethes on hym he had one cloute..His harneys for to hyde.

    † 8. Ware, gear; fig. affairs, matters. Obs.

c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶900 Why þat a man synneþ as by which temptacioun or by excitynge of oþer folke..and alle such maner harneys. c 1440 York Myst. xv. 102 Loo! here slyke harnays as I haue, A baren broche by a belle of tynne At youre bosom to be.

    9. attrib. and Comb., as (in sense 4) harness-boss, harness-horse, harness-maker, harness-polisher, harness-room, harness-tie, harness-work; (in sense 6) harness-board (see quot.), harness-cord, harness-twine; harness-bearing adj.; also harness-clamp (see quot.); harness (horse) racing, a race between horses harnessed to vehicles; also harness race (Webster, 1909); † harness-man = harness-bearer, an armour-bearer; harness-plate, electroplated metal work used in harness; hence harness-plater (see quot.); harness-tub = harness-cask; harness-weaver (see quot.).

1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. xi. 43 Jove's *harnesse-bearing bird.

1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Harness-board, the compass-board of a loom, having holes through which pass the neck twines.

1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. lxvi, The polishing..of stirrup-irons, bits, curb-chains, *harness-bosses.

1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Harness-clamp (Saddlery), a kind of vice used to hold leather while being stitched.

1836 Ure Cotton Manuf. (1861) II. 224 The *harness cords of a draw⁓loom.

1861 Walsh & Lupton Horse xv. 272 Hacks and *Harness-horses demand nearly as much time and care to prepare them for their work. 1889 Dk. Beaufort Driving (Badm. Libr.) 74 A harness horse in regular work ought to be fed four times a day.

1853 C. Morfit Tanning, etc. 152 ‘*Harness’ leather is blackened in the grain.

1611 Cotgr., Armorier, an armorer, or *Harnesse-maker. 1889 Dk. Beaufort Driving (Badm. Libr.) 94 It is adviseable..for the harness-maker to see the horse he is required to fit with a collar.

1530 Palsgr. 229/2 *Harnesman, armigere.

1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Harness-plater, a workman who electro⁓plates the metal work for harness.

1901 World Almanac 266 *Harness racing. 1909 Ibid. 213 Harness horse racing. 1947 Newsweek 8 Sept. 71/1 Harness racing is doing very well in keeping up with the flashy bankrolls of the times. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 36/2 About the only sure thing in harness racing is that Russ Miller..will come up with something special each year. Ibid. 17 Feb. 44 (Advt.), Nine harness races today. 1971 Guardian 9 June 6/5 Trotting or harness racing, which has become a major sporting attraction in Australia and the United States, is making a comeback in its place of origin, the Yorkshire dales and fells.

1889 Dk. Beaufort Driving (Badm. Libr.) 89 The *harness-room should be provided with a fireplace or some kind of stove.

1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, *Harness Weavers, operatives employed in Paisley in weaving the more complicated patterns of shawls.

Mod. Horses for quiet *Harness-work.

    Hence ˈharnessry rare, harness collectively; ˈharnessy a. colloq., smacking of harness.

1824 J. H. Wiffen Tasso vii. lxxxii, With chariots, harnessries, and helms. 1892 Field 14 May 729/1 She [a mare] seemed a bit heavy about the neck, and ‘harnessy’.

▪ II. ˈharness, v.
    Forms: α. 4 harneyschen, 4–6 -esch(en, 6 harnisch. β. 4–5 harneyse(n, -eise(n, -ayse(n, -esse(n, -as(se(n, hernays, 5–6 harnys(e, -es, 5–7 -ass, 6 -esse, 7 -ise, 6– harness.
    [In form harnesche, a. OF. harneschier (12th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), Picard harnesquier, later harnaskier, harnascher, harnacher (Rom. type *harnescāre, cf. Pr. arnescar), f. harnesc-, OF. harneis harness. The β. forms are formed from, or conformed to, the n.]
    † 1. To furnish, equip, accoutre; esp. to mount, or ornament with fittings of some precious material.

c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3665 Brydel and paytrel and al þe gere Wiþ fyn gold y-harneysed were. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 114 A gay daggere, Harneised wel and sharpe as point of spere. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xix. 86 Brade gyrdils of silke, wele hernayst with gold and preciouse stanes. 1418 E.E. Wills (1882) 34 My Baselard harneysed with siluer. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xxxiv, A fayre horne harnest with gold. 1534 Eng. Ch. Furniture (1866) 193, ij verges paynted made for the chamberlaynes harnesid at bothe endes with syluer. 1877 Jrnl. Archæol. Inst. XXXIV. 300 [Wooden drinking-cups] hooped and mounted or ‘harnessed’ in silver.

    2. a. To equip in ‘harness’ or armour; to arm, to accoutre. arch.

13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 592 So harnayst as he watz he herknez his masse. 1375 Barbour Bruce ix. 710 [Thai] schot furth, fra thai harnast war. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2929 Harneyscheaþ ȝow with-oute lette. c 1440 York Myst. xxviii. 195 Both armed and harneysed ȝe be. c 1537 Thersites in Hazl. Dodsley I. 395 When I am harnessed well. 1682 Bunyan Holy War 46 Harness yourselves for the war. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. ix. 324 Their decks were thick with warriors harnessed for the battle.

fig. 1531 Tindale Exp. 1 John (1537) 79 They..harnesse themselues with the meditacyon of those thinges which Christ suffered. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. xiii. (1870) 156 Now am I harnest, and redy, Doche for to speke. 1556 J. Olde tr. Gualter's Antichrist 36 The Leoparde..hade foure winges, and was harnessed wyth as many hornes.

    † b. To equip (a place) defensively; to fortify.

1611 Bible Macc. iv. 7 They saw the campe of the heathen, that is was strong, and well harnessed.

    3. To put harness on (a horse or other beast of burden or draught); now confined to draught animals, esp. carriage-horses, and the like. Also fig., now chiefly to utilize (a river, waterfall, natural forces, atomic energy) for motive power.

13.. K. Alis. 4708 He dude quyk harnesche hors, And sette theron heore cors. 1483 Cath. Angl. 176/1 To Harnes, epiphiare, falerare. 1530 Palsgr. 579/2 Be your horses harnessed yet? it is tyme to go to ploughe. 1535 Coverdale Jer. xlvi. 4 Yee harnesse youre horses, & set youre selues vpon them. 1684 Scanderbeg Rediv. iv. 54 Followed by above 200 of the Lords..all splendidly Array'd, and their Horses extraordinarily Harnessed. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xxiv. 990 The Trojan train Their mules and oxen harness to the wain. 1890 R. Broughton Alas! III. 285, I should like to buy a little cart to harness him to.

absol. 1864 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xvii. iv. IV. 548 Mitchell was harnessing for Potsdam.

fig. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 115 Others that are harness'd with the Apron-strings of Trade. 1775 Sheridan Rivals i. i, I wish they were once harnessed together in matrimony. 1856 Dove Logic Chr. Faith i. ii. 72 Philosophy..must..harness herself and work. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 5 Dec. 3/1 We may any day have news flashed to us by cable that Niagara is harnessed, and its stupendous power brought into ordinary commercial uses. 1927 A. Christie Big Four xvii. 258, I believe that she has, to a certain extent, succeeded in liberating atomic energy and harnessing it to her purpose. 1935 Discovery Feb. 41/1 The business of harnessing cosmic rays, of forcing them to do the work of electricity, is proceeding apace. 1955 Times 19 May 3/6 This monster is, of course, the huge underwater vessel Nautilus..propelled by ‘the dynamic force of the universe’, which somehow he has succeeded in harnessing. 1965 Listener 3 June 823/1 This seems..to make sense: harnessing individual and group enthusiasm to enrich the region.

    † 4. To dress, clothe, apparel, array. Obs. or arch.

c 1400 Rom. Rose 2647 Ryse on morwe up erly, Out of thy bedde, and harneyse thee. 1467 Eng. Gilds (1870) 408 Alle the hole crafte, shallen wayte vppon the seid Baillies..in ther best arraye harnesid. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 90 A goose is harnest in hir white fethers. 1647 Trapp Comm. Matt. vi. 7 With two [wings] they covered or harnessed their feet. 1848 Kingsley Saint's Trag. iv. i, I am harnessed light as any foot-page.

    Hence ˈharnessing vbl. n.; also concr. trappings, accoutrement. ˈharnesser, one who harnesses.

1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. viii. 129 Certane horssis..harnest w{supt} braue harnessings. 1611 Cotgr., Harnacheur, a harnesser of a horse. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 35 The deer, whose harnessing is very simple. 1837 Dickens Pickw. ix, The whole process of harnessing had to be gone through afresh.

Oxford English Dictionary