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constraint

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Etymology and origin of the English word constraint

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1374 Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde
Borrowed from
Old French constreinte via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin stringō

Pronunciation

  • /kənˈstɹeɪnt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English constreinte,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French constreinte (“binding, constraint, compulsion”),[5][3][6][2] a noun use of the feminine of constreint, the past participle of constreindre (“to constrain”).[5][6][3] Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com take it from Middle French.[7][8] The participle comes from Vulgar Latin *constrinctus, a popular form of Latin constrictus,[5][3] the past participle of constringō (“to bind together, tie tightly, fetter”), formed from com- (“with, together”) and stringō (“to draw tight”).[3] The modern French word is contrainte.[3] The English noun is related to constrain, constrict and strain.[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Distress, oppression, affliction: about 1374, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde,[5][4] late in the 14th century in Etymonline.[3] The OED also records constraint as the past participle of constrain about 1360, and as an adjective from about 1430 to 1541.[5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, pressure of trouble or misfortune, was obsolete by the late 16th century.[5][6][3] The sense "coercion, compulsion" is recorded from 1533, in Thomas More,[5][3] and extended in 1607 to the compulsion of circumstances.[5] From 1590, in Spenser's Faerie Queene, it also meant confinement or restriction of liberty.[5] Johnson (1755) defined it as "compulsion; compelling force; violence; act of over-ruling the desire; confinement", quoting Shakespeare's King John.[9] The restraint of natural feelings and behaviour, or a manner that is not natural, is recorded from 1706.[5][3] Physics added a condition brought about in a body by a force (1831, Brewster) and a restriction on the motion of a body in dynamics (1856),[5] and Collins records a sense in linguistics, a general restriction on a rule of sentence formation.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – oppression, affliction, distress (obsolete by 1579).[5][4]
  • 1533 – coercion, compulsion.[5][3]
  • 1590 – confinement, restriction of liberty.[5]
  • 1607 – compulsion of circumstances.[5]
  • 1706 – the holding back of natural feelings; a forced manner.[5][3]
  • 1831 – in physics, a condition brought about in a body by a force.[5]
  • 1856 – in dynamics, a restriction on the motion of a body.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Something that limits or restricts; a restrictive condition: Budget constraints delayed the new bridge.[10][7]
  2. The use of force or threat to make someone act or to stop them acting; compulsion, coercion.[10][7][5]
  3. The state of being held back or restricted; confinement.[7][5]
  4. The holding back of natural feelings; a stiff, unnatural manner: There was a certain constraint between the two brothers.[10][5]
  5. (physics) A condition that limits the possible motion of a body or system.[5]
  6. (linguistics) A very general restriction on a rule of sentence formation.[10]
  7. (obsolete) Oppression, affliction, distress (c. 1374–1579).[5][6]

Word family

  • nonconstraint
  • unconstraint

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Constraint.” Etymologically, 1 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/constraint. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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