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trammel - 5 dictionary results
tram⋅mel
[tram-uh
l] 
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 trēmaculum, equiv. to L trē(s) three + macula mesh
1325–75; ME tramayle < MF tramail, var. of tremail three-mesh net < LL trēmaculum, equiv. to L trē(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.
1. drag, hobble, curb, inhibition. 8. hinder, impede, obstruct, encumber.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To trammel
| tram·mel (trām'əl) n.
[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. |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Trammel
Tram"mel\, n. [F. tramail, tr['e]mail, a net, LL. tremaculum, tremacle, a kind of net for taking fish; L. tres three + macula a mesh. See Three, and Mail armor.]1. A kind of net for catching birds, fishes, or other prey. --Carew. 2. A net for confining a woman's hair. --Spenser. 3. A kind of shackle used for regulating the motions of a horse and making him amble. 4. Fig.: Whatever impedes activity, progress, or freedom, as a net or shackle. [They] disdain the trammels of any sordid contract. --Jeffrey. 5. An iron hook of various forms and sizes, used for handing kettles and other vessels over the fire. 6. (Mech.) (a) An instrument for drawing ellipses, one part of which consists of a cross with two grooves at right angles to each other, the other being a beam carrying two pins (which slide in those grooves), and also the describing pencil. (b) A beam compass. See under Beam.Trammel
Tram"mel\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Trammeledor Trammelled; p. pr. & vb. n. Trammeling, or Trammelling.]1. To entangle, as in a net; to catch. [R.] --Shak. 2. To confine; to hamper; to shackle.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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