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shackle

shackle


shack·le    Audio Help   (shāk'əl)  Pronunciation Key 


n.  
  1. A metal fastening, usually one of a pair, for encircling and confining the ankle or wrist of a prisoner or captive; a fetter or manacle.
  2. A hobble for an animal.
  3. Any of several devices, such as a clevis, used to fasten or couple.
  4. A restraint or check to action or progress. Often used in the plural: economic shackles that precluded further investment.

tr.v.   shack·led, shack·ling, shack·les
  1. To confine with shackles; fetter.
  2. To fasten or connect with a shackle.
  3. To restrict, confine, or hamper. See Synonyms at hamper1.


[Middle English schackel, from Old English sceacel, fetter.]

shack'ler n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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