refrain

See also Refrain

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹɪˈfɹeɪn/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪn

Etymology 1

From a combination of Anglo-Norman refraindre, Middle French refreindre (from Latin refrangere), and Anglo-Norman refrener, Middle French refrener (from Latin refrenare).

Verb

refrain (third-person singular simple present refrains, present participle refraining, simple past and past participle refrained)

1. (transitive, archaic) To hold back, to restrain (someone or something). [from 14th c.]
   • Proverbs i:15.

     Refrain thy foot from their path.

2. (reflexive, archaic) To show restraint; to hold oneself back. [from 14th c.]
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Acts V:

     And nowe I saye unto you: refrayne youreselves from these men, and let them alone [...].

3. (transitive, now rare) To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb. [from 14th c.]
   • Chaucer

     his reson aperceyueth it wel that it is synne / agayns the lawe of god / and yet his reson / refreyneth nat his foul delit or talent.

4. (intransitive) To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain. [from 15th c.]
5. (transitive, now rare, regional) To abstain from (food or drink). [from 16th c.]
   • Thomas Browne

     Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink.

Translations

to hold back

Dutch: tegenhouden (nl), bedwingen (nl), inhouden (nl) Finnish: pidätellä, pitää poissa Norwegian: holde (no) tilbake (no)

Slovene: vzdržati se Tamil: தடுத்தல்  (ta) (Thaduththal)

to abstain (from)

Arabic: امتنع (ar) (imtana`a) Chinese: Mandarin: 避免 (cmn) (bìmiǎn), 戒除 (cmn) (jièchú) Czech: zdržet se Dutch: zich onthouden van (nl) Finnish: pidättäytyä (with elative)

Japanese: 慎む (ja) (tsutsushimu), 差し控える (ja) (sashihikaeru) Norwegian: avstå (no) Portuguese: se abster de Russian: воздержаться (ru) (vozderžát'sja) (от (ot) + genitive case), (imperfective) воздерживаться (ru) (vozdérživat'sja) (от (ot) + genitive case) Slovene: vzdržati se

to keep one’s self from action

Dutch: zich niet inlaten met (nl) Finnish: pidättäytyä (fi) Norwegian: avholde (no) seg Polish: powstrzymywać się / powstrzymać się

Portuguese: se abster Slovene: vzdržati se !Xóõ: ǀa̰ã

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Dutch: (zich) inhouden; terughouden; (zich) onthouden (van); (zich) verzetten (tegen) French: se réfréner, se retenir

Etymology 2

From French refrain, from Old French refraindre (“to break off, repeat”), from Latin re- (“back, again”) + frangō (“break”); compare Pr. refranhs (“a refrain”), refranher (“to repeat”). See refract and the verb to refrain.

Noun

Wikipedia refrain (plural refrains)

1. The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.

   We hear the wild refrain. Whittier.

Translations

burden of song

Czech: refrén (cs) m. Danish: refræn (da) n. Dutch: refrein (nl) Finnish: kertosäe (fi) French: refrain (fr) German: Refrain (de) m. Greek: επωδός (el) (epōdós) f., ρεφρέν (el) (refrén) n.

Hungarian: refrén Norwegian: refreng (no) Polish: refren (pl) m. Portuguese: refrão (pt) m. Russian: припев (ru) (prip'év) m., рефрен (ru) (r'efr'én) m. Scottish Gaelic: sèist (gd) m. and f. Slovene: refren (sl) m. Spanish: estribillo (es)

References

• refrain in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913

Anagrams

• ferrian

---

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

refrain m. (plural refrains)

1. refrain, chorus

Anagrams

• fariner

---

Italian

Etymology

French

Noun

refrain m. inv.

1. refrain

Synonyms

• ritornello

Anagrams

• rifarne