Etymologically
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restringo

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [rɛsˈtrɪŋ.ɡoː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [resˈtriŋ.ɡo][1]

Forms

restringō (present infinitive restringere, perfect active restrīnxī, supine restrictum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin re- (“back”) + stringō (“to draw tight”).[2][1] De Vaan thinks stringō continues a merger of separate roots: Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ-e/o- (“to draw, tie”), the sense kept in all the compounds, and Proto-Indo-European *stri-n-g- (“to brush, strip”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it in the Captivi of baring the teeth, as an angry dog does.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its main sense is to fasten something behind or tight: Horace has arms bound behind the back, Pliny the Elder hands tied behind, and Tacitus a noose drawn tight and a girl bound with chains.[2][4] Lewis & Short note that the finite verb is not found before Augustus, though the participle is classical.[4] Statius uses it of holding back a boxer's hands.[2] Figuratively it is to restrain or keep within bounds, as Seneca says of grief that should have been checked early.[2] The sense of drawing back a covering, as of the lips from the teeth, goes back to Plautus.[2] Stelten gives “restrain, restore, check”.[5] English restrain comes from it through Old French, and restrict from its participle.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of baring the teeth.[2][7]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace, of arms tied behind the back.[2][4][7]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca, of restraining grief.[2][7]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus, of drawing a noose tight.[2][7]
  • mid-14th century – English restrain, through Old French.[6]
  • 1530s – English restrict, from the participle.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To fasten (the hands, arms) behind one; to draw tight; to bind fast, tie up.[2][4][1]
  2. To hold back, restrain; to keep within bounds, restrict.[2][1][5]
  3. To draw back a covering; to bare (the teeth); to open.[2][1]

Word family

  • restrictim
  • restrictiō
  • restrictē
  • restrictus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de