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reins

  [reynz]
Use reins in a Sentence
–plural noun
1. the kidneys.
2. the region of the kidneys, or the lower part of the back.
3. (esp. in Biblical use) the seat of the feelings or affections, formerly identified with the kidneys.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME reines, reenes < OF reins; cf. OE (once) rēnys; both < L rēnēs kidneys, loins (pl.); cf. renal
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rein

  [reyn]
–noun
1. Often, reins. a leather strap, fastened to each end of the bit of a bridle, by which the rider or driver controls a horse or other animal by pulling so as to exert pressure on the bit.
2. any of certain other straps or thongs forming part of a harness, as a checkrein.
3. any means of curbing, controlling, or directing; check; restraint.
4. reins, the controlling or directing power: the reins of government.
–verb (used with object)
5. to check or guide (a horse or other animal) by exerting pressure on a bridle bit by means of the reins.
6. to curb; restrain; control.
–verb (used without object)
7. to obey the reins: a horse that reins well.
8. to rein a horse or other animal.
—Idioms
9. draw rein, to curtail one's speed or progress; halt: The rider saw the snake and drew rein sharply.
10. give rein to, to give complete freedom to; indulge freely: to give rein to one's imagination. Also, give free rein to, give full rein to.
Origin:
1300–50; (n.) ME rene, reine, raine < OF re(s)ne < VL *retina, n. deriv. of L retinēre to hold back, retain; (v.) ME rainen, reinen, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
reinless, adjective

Synonyms:
6. check, bridle, limit.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To reins
rein   (rān)   
n.  
  1. A long narrow leather strap attached to each end of the bit of a bridle and used by a rider or driver to control a horse or other animal. Often used in the plural.
  2. A means of restraint, check, or guidance.
  3. A means or an instrument by which power is exercised. Often used in the plural: the reins of government.
v.   reined, rein·ing, reins

v.   tr.
  1. To check or hold back by or as if by the use of reins. Often with in, back, or up.
  2. To restrain or control.
v.   intr.
To control a horse, for example, with reins.

[Middle English, from Old French resne, reine, from Vulgar Latin *retina, from Latin retinēre, to retain; see retain.]
reins   (rānz)   
pl.n.  
  1. The kidneys, loins, or lower back.
  2. The seat of the affections and passions.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin rēnēs.]
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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Reins

Reins\ (r[=a]nz), n. pl. [F. rein, pl. reins, fr. L. ren, pl. renes.]

1. The kidneys; also, the region of the kidneys; the loins.

2. The inward impulses; the affections and passions; -- so called because formerly supposed to have their seat in the part of the body where the kidneys are.

My reins rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. --Prov. xxiii. 16.

I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. --Rev. ii. 23.

Reins of a vault (Arch.), the parts between the crown and the spring or abutment, including, and having especial reference to, the loading or filling behind the shell of the vault. The reins are to a vault nearly what the haunches are to an arch, and when a vault gives way by thrusting outward, it is because its reins are not sufficiently filled up.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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reins (rānz)
pl.n.
The kidneys, loins, or lower back.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Reins

the kidneys, the supposed seat of the desires and affections; used metaphorically for "heart." The "reins" and the "heart" are often mentioned together, as denoting the whole moral constitution of man (Ps. 7:9; 16:7; 26:2; 139:13; Jer. 17:10, etc.).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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