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Trammel

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8 dictionary results for: Trammel

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

tram·mel

[tram-uh

l] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, -meled, -mel·ing or (especially British

) -melled, -mel·ling.

–noun

1.	Usually, trammels. a hindrance or impediment to free action; restraint: the trammels of custom.

2.	an instrument for drawing ellipses.

3.	Also called tram. a device used to align or adjust parts of a machine.

4.	trammel net.

5.	a fowling net.

6.	a contrivance hung in a fireplace to support pots or kettles over the fire.

7.	a fetter or shackle, esp. one used in training a horse to amble.

–verb (used with object)

8.	to involve or hold in trammels; restrain.

9.	to catch or entangle in or as in a net.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME tramayle < MF tramail, var. of tremail three-mesh net < LL trémaculum, equiv. to L tré(s) three + macula mesh

]

—Related forms

tram·mel·er; especially British, tram·mel·ler, noun

—Synonyms 1. drag, hobble, curb, inhibition. 8. hinder, impede, obstruct, encumber.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

tram·mel (trām'əl) Pronunciation Key
n.

A shackle used to teach a horse to amble.
Something that restricts activity, expression, or progress; a restraint.
A vertically set fishing net of three layers, consisting of a finely meshed net between two nets of coarse mesh.
An instrument for describing ellipses.
An instrument for gauging and adjusting parts of a machine; a tram.
An arrangement of links and a hook in a fireplace for raising and lowering a kettle.

tr.v. tram·meled or tram·melled, tram·mel·ing or tram·mel·ling, tram·mels

To enmesh in or as if in a fishing net. See Synonyms at hamper¹.
To hinder the activity or free movement of.

[Middle English tramale, a kind of net, from Old French tramail, from Late Latin trēmaculum : Latin trēs, three; see trei- in Indo-European roots + Latin macula, mesh.]

tram'mel·er n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
trammel (n.)

1363 (implied in trammeller) "net to catch fish," from M.Fr. tramail, from O.Fr. (c.1220), from L.L. tremaculum, perhaps meaning "a net made from three layers of meshes," from L. tri- "three" + macula "a mesh." It. tramaglio, Sp. trasmallo are Fr. loan-words. The verb is attested from 1536, originally "to bind up (a corpse);" sense of "hinder, restrain" is from 1727.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

trammel
noun
1.	a fishing net with three layers; the outer two are coarse mesh and the loose inner layer is fine mesh [syn: trammel net]
2.	an adjustable pothook set in a fireplace
3.	a restraint that is used to teach a horse to amble
4.	a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner) [syn: shackle]
verb
1.	catch in or as if in a trap; "The men trap foxes" [syn: trap]
2.	place limits on (extent or access); "restrict the use of this parking lot"; "limit the time you can spend with your friends" [syn: restrict]