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Trammel
Definitions
- 1 A surname.
- 1 Whatever impedes activity, progress, or freedom, such as a net or shackle.
"[They] disclaim the trammels of any sordid contract."
- 2 a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner) wordnet
- 3 A fishing net that has large mesh at the edges and smaller mesh in the middle
- 4 a restraint that is used to teach a horse to amble wordnet
- 5 A kind of net for catching birds, fishes, or other prey.
"1633, The tuck carrieth a like fashion , save that it is narrower meshed , and ( therefore scarce lawful ) with a long bunt in the midst : the trammel differeth not much from the shape of this bunt, and serveth to such use as the wear and haking."
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- 6 an adjustable pothook set in a fireplace wordnet
- 7 A vertical bar with several notches or chain of rings suspended over a fire, used to hang cooking pots by a hook which has an easily adjustable height.
- 8 a fishing net with three layers; the outer two are coarse mesh and the loose inner layer is fine mesh wordnet
- 9 Braids or plaits of hair.
"Her golden lockes she roundly did uptye In breaded tramels, that no looser heares Did out of order stray about her daintie eares."
- 10 A kind of shackle used for regulating the motions of a horse and making it amble.
- 11 An instrument for drawing ellipses, one part of which consists of a cross with two grooves at right angles to each other, the other being a beam carrying two pins (which slide in those grooves), and also the describing pencil.
- 12 A beam compass.
- 1 To entangle, as in a net.
"the scarce-snatched hours Which deepening pain left to his lordliest powers: — Heaven lost through spider-trammelled prison-bars."
- 2 place limits on (extent or amount or access) wordnet
- 3 To confine; to hamper; to shackle. transitive
"In their vote, you would get something of some value, at least, however small; but in the other case, only the trammelled judgment of an individual, of no significance, be it which way it might."
- 4 catch in or as if in a trap wordnet
Etymology
From Middle English trameyle, from Old French tramail (“net for catching fish”), from Late Latin tremaculum, from tri- (“tri-”) + macula (“spot, speck; mesh, cell”). Cognate with Italian tramaglio (“trammel”), Spanish trasmallo (“drift net”).
From Middle English trameyle, from Old French tramail (“net for catching fish”), from Late Latin tremaculum, from tri- (“tri-”) + macula (“spot, speck; mesh, cell”). Cognate with Italian tramaglio (“trammel”), Spanish trasmallo (“drift net”).
See also for "trammel"
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