tether

English

Alternative forms

• tedder (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr); 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”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛðə(r)

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.
4. (dialect) The cardinal number three in an old counting system used in Teesdale and Swaledale. (Variant of tethera)

Synonyms

• hobble (strap)

Derived terms

• at the end of one’s tether
• tetherless
• tetherless computing

Translations

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

• Assamese: এৰাল (eral), পঘা (pogha)
• 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 n
• Irish: teaghrán m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: cavezza f, guinzaglio (it) m, briglia (it) f, redine (it) f
• Malay: tali tambat, rantai tambat
• Norwegian: tjor
• Polish: pęto (pl) n, pęta f, 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 c, förankringslina c, ankarkätting c
• Tagalog: soga (tl) (soga)

nautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay

• Finnish: turvaköysi
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} guinzaglio (it) m

Verb

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

1. to restrict something with a tether.
2. (Internet) to connect a cellular smartphone to another personal computer in order to give it access to a hotspot.
3. to connect something to something else. (clarification of this definition is needed)
   • 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.

Translations

to restrict something 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: tambat
• Russian: привяза́ть (ru) (privjazátʹ), привя́зывать (ru) (privjázyvatʹ)
• Spanish: amarrar (es), acordonar (es)
• Swedish: tjudra, ankra (sv), förankra (sv)

to connect a PC and a smartphone

• German: zusammenschalten
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: sammankoppla

Anagrams

• Threet