fetter

See also: Fetter

English

Fetters in use.

Etymology

From Middle English feter, from Old English feter, Proto-West Germanic *fetur, from Proto-Germanic *feturaz (“fetter”), from Proto-Indo-European *ped- (“foot, step”). Cognate with Dutch veter (“lace”). Related to foot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfet.ə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛt.ə/
• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛt.ɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛtə(ɹ)

Noun

fetter (plural fetters)

1. A chain or similar object used to bind a person or animal – often by its legs (usually in plural).
2. (figurative) Anything that restricts or restrains.
   • 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe‎^[1], Prologue:

     Passion's too fierce to be in fetters bound.

   • 1818, Mary Shelley, chapter 6, in Frankenstein‎^[2]:

     He looks upon study as an odious fetter; his time is spent in the open air, climbing the hills or rowing on the lake.

   • 1910, Erwin Rosen, “Prolog”, in In the Foreign Legion‎^[3], HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2012:

     That was the turning-point of my life. I broke my fetters, and I fought a hard fight for a new career …

Synonyms

(chains on legs):

• leg irons

Hyponyms

(chain binding generally):

• handcuff, handcuffs
• leg irons
• manacle, manacles
• shackle, shackles

Translations

object used to bind a person or animal by its legs

• Arabic: غُلّ m (ḡull), (chiefly plural) أَغْلال (ʔaḡlāl)

  Moroccan Arabic: ڭيد m (gīd) (between front legs of horses), شكال m (škal) (between front and rear legs of horses)

• Armenian: ոտնակապ (hy) (otnakap)

  Old Armenian: պարաւանդ (parawand)

• Azerbaijani: buxov
• Bulgarian: букаи pl (bukai), окови (bg) f pl (okovi)
• Burmese: ထူး (my) (htu:)
• Catalan: grilló (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鐐／镣 (zh) (liào), 镣 (zh) (liào, liáo)

• Crimean Tatar: kişen
• Czech: pouto n
• Dutch: kluister (nl) f, boei (nl) f
• Finnish: kahleet (fi) pl, kahle (fi)
• French: entrave (fr) f, fers (fr) m pl
• Galician: péga f, pexa f, traba m, solta f, ferros m pl
• German: Fessel (de) f; (on feet specifically) Fußfessel (de) f, Fußschelle f
• Gothic: 𐌽𐌰𐌿𐌳𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌹 f (naudibandi)
• Greek:

  Ancient: πέδη f (pédē), δεσμός m (desmós)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: béklyó (hu), lábbilincs (hu)
• Irish: laincis f
• Italian: ferri (it) m pl, ceppi (it) m pl
• Latin: vinculum n, compēs f
• Macedonian: о́ков m (ókov), пра́нга f (pránga)
• Occitan: enfèrrias f pl, enfèrris m pl, entrava f, trava f
• Persian: غل و زنجیر (ğol o zanjir), بند (fa) (band), اشکیل (fa) (eškil)
• Plautdietsch: Iesa (nds) n, Spaunsel n
• Polish: kajdany (pl) pl, okowy (pl) pl, pęto (pl) n, pęta pl
• Portuguese: ferros (pt) m pl, grilhões m pl, grilhetas f pl, peia (pt) f
• Russian: пу́ты (ru) f pl (púty), око́вы (ru) f pl (okóvy), кандалы́ (ru) m pl (kandalý)
• Scottish Gaelic: dì-leum m, cuibhreach m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: pyto n

• Spanish: grillos (es) m pl, pihuelas f pl, (for animals) manea (es) f, (for birds) pihuela f
• Swedish: fotboja (sv) c
• Thai: ตรวน (th) (dtruuan)
• Tocharian B: śanmau
• Turkish: pranga (tr), köstek (tr)
• Walloon: epîtoe (wa) m
• Welsh: llyffethair f

anything that restricts or restrains in any way

• Azerbaijani: buxov
• Bulgarian: окови (bg) pl (okovi)
• Catalan: obstacle (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 束縛／束缚 (cuk¹ bok³), 限制 (haan⁶ zai³)

• Finnish: kahle (fi)
• French: entrave (fr) f, obstacle (fr) m
• Galician: pega (gl) f, pexa f, traba f, obstáculo m
• Greek:

  Ancient: δεσμός m (desmós)

• Hungarian: bilincs (hu), lánc (hu)
• Italian: ostacoli (it) m pl
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: vinculum n
• Macedonian: о́ков m (ókov)
• Occitan: entrava f, obstacle (oc) m, trava f, enfèrris m pl
• Persian: قید (fa) (qeyd), قید و بند (qeyd o band)
• Portuguese: grilhões m pl, peia (pt) f
• Russian: пу́ты (ru) pl (púty), око́вы (ru) f pl (okóvy)
• Sanskrit: राहुल (sa) (rāhula)
• Spanish: grillos (es) m or pl, pihuela f, traba (es) f, obstáculo (es) m
• Turkish: köstek (tr)
• Walloon: aroke (wa) f, atna m

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: ^{(please verify)} hlekkir n, ^{(please verify)} fótajárn n
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 차꼬 (chakko), ^{(please verify)} 족쇄 (ko) (jokswae)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} feter f, ^{(please verify)} hæft m
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} cùm (vi)

Verb

fetter (third-person singular simple present fetters, present participle fettering, simple past and past participle fettered)

1. (transitive) To shackle or bind up with fetters.
   • 1788 June, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, “Mr. Sheridan’s Speech, on Summing Up the Evidence on the Second, or Begum Charge against Warren Hastings, Esq., Delivered before the High Court of Parliament, June 1788”, in Select Speeches, Forensick and Parliamentary, with Prefatory Remarks by N[athaniel] Chapman, M.D., volume I, [Philadelphia, Pa.]: Published by Hopkins and Earle, no. 170, Market Street, published 1808, →OCLC, page 474:

     The Begums' ministers, on the contrary, to extort from them the disclosure of the place which concealed the treasures, were, […] after being fettered and imprisoned, led out on to a scaffold, and this array of terrours proving unavailing, the meek tempered Middleton, as a dernier resort, menaced them with a confinement in the fortress of Chunargar. Thus, my lords, was a British garrison made the climax of cruelties!

2. (transitive) To restrain or impede; to hamper.

Hyponyms

• handcuff
• manacle
• shackle

Derived terms

• unfetter

Translations

to shackle or bind up with fetters

• Arabic:

  Moroccan Arabic: ڭيد (geyyed) (between both front legs of horses), شكل (šekkel) (between front and hind leg of horses)

• Bulgarian: оковавам (bg) (okovavam)
• Catalan: engrillonar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 束縛／束缚 (zh) (shùfù), 束缚 (zh) (shùfù, shùfú)

• Esperanto: alkateni
• Finnish: kahlita (fi)
• French: entraver (fr)
• Galician: pexar
• Greek:

  Ancient: ,

• Ido: katenizar (io)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: cuibhrigh

  Old Irish: con·rig

• Italian: incatenare (it)
• Macedonian: оковува (okovuva)
• Persian: بستن (fa) (bastan)
• Portuguese: agrilhoar (pt)
• Russian: заковывать (ru) (zakovyvatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuibhrich
• Spanish: engrillar (es), aherrojar (es)
• Swedish: fjättra (sv)
• Turkish: pranga vurmak, kösteklemek (tr)
• Walloon: epîter (wa), efirdjî (wa), epasturer

to restrain or impede

• Bulgarian: спъвам (bg) (spǎvam), ограничавам (bg) (ograničavam)
• Catalan: impedir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 束縛／束缚 (zh) (shùfù), 束缚 (zh) (shùfù, shùfú)

• Finnish: kahlita (fi), rajoittaa (fi)
• French: entraver (fr)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ,

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: ostacolare (it)
• Latin: teneo (la)
• Portuguese: agrilhoar (pt)
• Russian: сковывать (ru) (skovyvatʹ), свя́зывать (ru) (svjázyvatʹ)
• Spanish: impedir (es)
• Turkish: pranga vurmak, kösteklemek (tr)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Icelandic: fjötra (is), hlekkja
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: acorrentar (pt), agrilhoar (pt), encadear (pt), prender (pt)

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈfɛtɐ]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Homophone: Vetter

Adjective

fetter

1. comparative degree of fett
2. inflection of fett:
   1. strong/mixed nominative masculine singular
   2. strong genitive/dative feminine singular
   3. strong genitive plural

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Middle Low German vedder.

Noun

fetter m (definite singular fetteren, indefinite plural fettere, definite plural fetterne)

1. a cousin (male)

Antonyms

• kusine

References

• “fetter” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Middle Low German vedder.

Noun

fetter m (definite singular fetteren, indefinite plural fetrar, definite plural fetrane)

1. a male cousin

Coordinate terms

• kusine f (“female cousin”)

References

• “fetter” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Swedish

Noun

fetter

1. (deprecated template usage) indefinite plural of fett

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Vilamovian

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: fet‧ter

Noun

fetter m (plural fettyn)

1. paternal uncle (brother of someone’s father)