tether

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to tie”), or from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with North German Tüder (“tether for binding the cattle”), Swedish tjuder (“tether for binding cattle”).

Alternative forms

• tedder (dialectal)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛðə(ɹ)/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛðə(ɹ)

Noun

tether (plural tethers)

1. A rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement.
2. (nautical, sailing) A strong rope or line that connects a sailor's safety harness to the boat's jackstay.
3. (by extension) The limit of one's abilities, resources etc.

Synonyms

• (strap): hobble

Derived terms

• at the end of one’s tether
• tetherless

Translations

rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement

• Assamese: এৰাল (eral), পঘা (pogha)
• Azerbaijani: mərəz, qayış (az)
• Catalan: amarra (ca) f
• Czech: úvaz m, provaz (cs) m, řetěz (cs) m
• Danish: fortøjring c, tøjr n
• Dutch: lijn (nl), kabel (nl), snoer (nl),
• Finnish: lieka (fi)
• French: longe (fr) f
• Galician: amarre
• German: Strick (de), Haltegurt m, Spannseil n, Leine (de) f, Schnur (de) f, Schnürung f, Halteseil (de) n
• Irish: teaghrán m
• Italian: cavezza f, guinzaglio (it) m, briglia (it) f, redine (it) f
• Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
• Malay: tali tambat, rantai tambat
• Norwegian: tjor
• Ottoman Turkish: كوستك (köstek)
• Polish: pęto (pl) n, pęta (pl) n pl, uwięź f, postronek (pl) m
• Portuguese: amarra (pt) f, peia (pt) f
• Russian: при́вязь (ru) f (prívjazʹ), страхо́вочная верёвка (straxóvočnaja verjóvka)
• Serbo-Croatian: privez (sh), oputa (sh)
• Spanish: soga (es) f
• Swedish: tjuder (sv) n, ankartross (sv) c, förankringslina c, ankarkätting c
• Tagalog: soga (tl)

nautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay

• Finnish: turvaköysi
• Swedish: fånglina c

limit of one's abilities, resources etc

• Dutch: limiet (nl), grens (nl), einde (nl),
• Finnish: mahdollisuuksien raja
• German: Limit (de) n, Grenze (de) f, Ende (de) n
• Italian: portata (it) f, campo (it) m
• Malay: buntu fikiran, suntuk fikiran
• Russian: преде́л (ru) m (predél), грани́ца (ru) f (graníca)
• Serbo-Croatian: sputanost (sh)

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

• German: ^{(please verify)} Leine (de) f, ^{(please verify)} Haltegurt m
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} guinzaglio (it) m

Verb

tether (third-person singular simple present tethers, present participle tethering, simple past and past participle tethered)

1. (transitive) To restrict with, or as if, with a tether.

   The cowboy tethered his horse outside the saloon.

2. (transitive) To connect to something else.
   • 2019 May 12, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club‎^[1]:

     The younger Targaryen feels as though she’s lost any intimacy that tethered her to compassion and humanity, and so all that remains is the imperious need to rule that has driven her all these years, now bereft of the warmth that previously tempered her.

   1. (Internet, transitive) To connect (a smartphone) to a personal computer in order to give the phone access to the computer's Internet connection.

Translations

to restrict something with or as if with a tether

• Dutch: vastmaken (nl), binden (nl)
• Finnish: panna liekaan
• French: attacher (fr)
• German: anbinden (de), festmachen (de), beschränken (de), anleinen (de)
• Italian: imbrigliare (it), incatenare (it), tenere al guinzaglio
• Malay: tambat
• Ottoman Turkish: كوستكلمك (kösteklemek)
• Portuguese: amarrar (pt)
• Russian: привяза́ть (ru) (privjazátʹ), привя́зывать (ru) (privjázyvatʹ)
• Spanish: amarrar (es), acordonar (es)
• Swedish: tjudra (sv), ankra (sv), förankra (sv)

to connect a PC and a smartphone

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 共享网络

• German: zusammenschalten, koppeln (de)
• Portuguese: acoplar (pt), conectar (pt)
• Swedish: sammankoppla

Etymology 2

Numeral

tether

1. Alternative form of tethera

Anagrams

• Threet