I. ˈfed.ə(r), -etə- noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English feter, from Old English feter, fetor, feotur; akin to Old High German fezzera fetter, Middle Dutch veter, Old Norse bjöturr fetter, Old English fōt foot — more at foot
1. : a chain or shackle for the feet : bond
a cow dragging her fetter chain and picket
— used chiefly in the plural
the fetters of the galley slave
2. : something that confines or restrains : restraint
would like to have world trade free of political fetters
3. : a long link in an ornamental chain
II. transitive verb
( fettered ; fettered ; fettering ; fetters )
Etymology: Middle English feteren, from Old English ge feterian, from feter, fetor, n.
1. : to put fetters upon : shackle the feet of with a chain
2. : to bind (one thing or person) to another as if with a chain
God who has fettered our everyday senses to an understanding of nothing but the things immediately around us — T.B.Costain
3.
a. : to restrain from free action : deprive of freedom
we reverence tradition but we will not be fettered by it — W.R.Inge
b. : to render helpless or impotent
deafness, by fettering the powers of utterance, cheats many of their birthright of knowledge — Malachy Hynes
Synonyms: see hamper