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fetters

 - 3 dictionary results

fet⋅ter

  [fet-er]
Use fetters in a Sentence
–noun
1. a chain or shackle placed on the feet.
2. Usually, fetters. anything that confines or restrains: Boredom puts fetters upon the imagination.
–verb (used with object)
3. to put fetters upon.
4. to confine; restrain.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE feter; c. OHG fezzera, ON fjǫturr; akin to foot

Related forms:
fet⋅ter⋅er, noun
fet⋅ter⋅less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fetters
fet·ter   (fět'ər)   
n.  

  1. A chain or shackle for the ankles or feet.

  2. Something that serves to restrict; a restraint.

tr.v.   fet·tered, fet·ter·ing, fet·ters

  1. To put fetters on; shackle.

  2. To restrict the freedom of. See Synonyms at hamper1.


[Middle English feter, from Old English; see ped- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fetter  (n.)
O.E. feter "chain or shackle for the feet," from P.Gmc. *fetero (cf. Du. veter, O.H.G. fezzera, O.N. fioturr), from PIE root *ped- "foot" (see foot). The generalized sense of "anything that shackles" had evolved in O.E. The verb is first recorded c.1300.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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