harness
English
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc/Capybara_harness.jpg/150px-Capybara_harness.jpg)
Etymology
From Middle English harneys, harnes, harneis, harnais, herneis, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Anglo-Norman harneis, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French hernois (“equipment used in battle”), believed to be from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old Norse *hernest, from heer (“army”) and nest (“provisions”). More at here.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 290: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /ˈhɑː(ɹ).nəs/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)nəs
Noun
harness (countable and uncountable, plural harnesses)
- (countable) A restraint or support, especially one consisting of a loop or network of rope or straps.
- (countable) A collection of wires or cables bundled and routed according to their function.
- (dated, uncountable) The complete dress, especially in a military sense, of a man or a horse; armour in general.
- 1606 William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act V, scene V
- Ring the alarum-bell! Blow, wind! come, wrack!
- At least we'll die with harness on our back.
- 1606 William Shakespeare, Macbeth, act V, scene V
- The part of a loom comprising the heddles, with their means of support and motion, by which the threads of the warp are alternately raised and depressed for the passage of the shuttle.
- Equipment for any kind of labour.
Derived terms
Translations
restraint or support
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set of wires — see wiring harness
Verb
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- (transitive) To place a harness on something; to tie up or restrain.
- They harnessed the horse to the post.
- 2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
- Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.
- (transitive) To capture, control or put to use.
- Imagine what might happen if it were possible to harness solar energy fully.
- 2013 August 16, John Vidal, “Dams endanger ecology of Himalayas”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 10, page 8:
- Most of the Himalayan rivers have been relatively untouched by dams near their sources. Now the two great Asian powers, India and China, are rushing to harness them as they cut through some of the world's deepest valleys.
- (transitive) To equip with armour.
Translations
to place a harness on something
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to control or put to use
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See also
harness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Template:Wikisource1911Enc Citation
Anagrams
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