trammel
Use Trammel in a sentence
tram·mel
[tram-uh
l] noun, verb, tram·meled, tram·mel·ing or ( especially British ) tram·melled, tram·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.
5.
a fowling net.
verb (used with object)
8.
to involve or hold in trammels; restrain.
9.
to catch or entangle in or as in a net.
00:10
Trammel
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle. |
Origin:
1325–75; Middle English tramayle < Middle French tramail, variant of tremail three-mesh net < Late Latin trēmaculum, equivalent to Latin trē(s) three + macula mesh
1325–75; Middle English tramayle < Middle French tramail, variant of tremail three-mesh net < Late Latin trēmaculum, equivalent to Latin trē(s) three + macula mesh
Related forms
tram·mel·er; especially British, tram·mel·ler, noun
un·tram·meled, adjective
un·tram·melled, adjective
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. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To trammel
Collins
World English Dictionary
trammel (ˈtræməl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (often plural) a hindrance to free action or movement |
| 2. | Also called: trammel net a fishing net in three sections, the two outer nets having a large mesh and the middle one a fine mesh |
| 3. | rare a fowling net |
| 4. | (US) a fetter or shackle, esp one used in teaching a horse to amble |
| 5. | a device for drawing ellipses consisting of a flat sheet of metal, plastic, or wood having a cruciform slot in which run two pegs attached to a beam. The free end of the beam describes an ellipse |
| 6. | (sometimes plural) another name for beam compass |
| 7. | Also called: tram a gauge for setting up machines correctly |
| 8. | a device set in a fireplace to support cooking pots |
| —vb , -els, -elling, -elled, -els, -eling, -eled | |
| 9. | to hinder or restrain |
| 10. | to catch or ensnare |
| 11. | to produce an accurate setting of (a machine adjustment), as with a trammel |
| [C14: from Old French tramail three-mesh net, from Late Latin trēmaculum, from Latin trēs three + macula hole, mesh in a net] | |
| 'trammeller | |
| —n | |
| 'trammeler | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
trammel
mid-14c. (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" (see mail (2)). It. tramaglio, Sp. trasmallo are Fr. loan-words.
The verb is attested from 1530s, originally "to bind up (a corpse);" sense of "hinder, restrain" is from 1727.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
He thinks that an essay should be spontaneous and free from every artificial trammel.
Sampling gear consisted of trammel and gill nets set overnight.
The allowable depth of commercial gill nets, trammel nets, and other entangling nets may vary by area.
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