bond

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /bɒnd/, US /bɑːnd/^[1]

Etymology

It is a Middle English variant of band “something that binds”, at first interchangeable with it,^[2][3][4] and influenced by the unrelated bond “serf, tenant farmer”, from Old English bōnda “householder”.^[2][3] It keeps more clearly than band the link with bind and bound,^[2][5] and is now the main or only form for a restraining or uniting force.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Anything that binds, fastens or confines: probably about 1200 in Barnhart,^[3] the early 13th century in Etymonline,^[2] about 1250 in the OED, of fetters.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Confinement or imprisonment is from before 1225, later only in the plural, as in bonds.^[6] Any circumstance that takes away freedom of action is from about 1250.^[6] A binding agreement or covenant is from the early 14th century,^[2] as early as 1303 in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne, of a marriage contract,^[3] and a uniting power or influence from the late 14th.^[2] A deed binding a person to pay a sum is from the 1590s,^[2] the 16th century in Hoad,^[4] and a debenture or government security from the 17th century.^[4] The laying of bricks in overlapping courses is from the 1670s,^[2] and in chemistry the link between atoms from 1900.^[2] The verb, to put in bond, is from the 1670s;^[2] “to hold together” is from 1836,^[2] and of people forming a close relationship from 1969.^[2] In northern English coalfields a bond was an agreement binding miners to work for an employer on stated terms, now obsolete.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – a binding, fetter.^[3]
• a. 1225 – imprisonment.^[6]
• 1303 – a binding agreement.^[3]
• late 14th century – a uniting force.^[2]
• 1590s – a deed to pay money.^[2]
• 17th century – a debenture.^[4]
• 1670s – a bond of bricks; verb.^[2]
• 1900 – a chemical bond.^[2]
• 1969 – verb, of people.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Something that binds, ties or fastens, such as a cord or fetter.
2. A uniting force or tie: the bond of friendship.
3. A binding agreement; a covenant.
4. A certificate of debt issued by a government or company, promising repayment with interest.
5. Money paid as a guarantee, as for the release of an accused person; bail.
6. (chemistry) A force that holds atoms together in a molecule.
7. A pattern of laying bricks so that they overlap.
8. (archaic) bonds: confinement; captivity.

Verb

1. To join securely, as with glue.
2. To form a close relationship: the mother bonded with her baby.
3. To place under bond, or furnish a bond for.

Word family

• bondable
• bonder
• bondless
• bondsman

Related words

• band
• bind
• bound
• bundle

Usage notes

The archaic adjective bond, “in slavery”, as in bondman and bondwoman, is a different word, from Middle English bonde “serf”, from Old English bōnda, from Old Norse bóndi “householder”.^[8][4][5] In South Africa a Bond was also an Afrikaner league, from Afrikaans.^[5]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
8. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster