English
restraint
Restraint comes from Old French restreinte, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke, rub, strike’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-‘to stroke, rub, strike’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400restreinte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500restreynte
- Englishearliest quotation 1968restraint
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-‘to stroke, rub, strike’root as named · steps between not traced
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400restreinte
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500restreynte
- Englishearliest quotation 1968restraint
Earliest quotation: 1968, Robert Conquest, The Purge Begins: “At the centre of Stalin’s superiority over his competitors…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke, rub, strike’
strike, stroke, streak, distress, stricken, stringent, stricture, 7 more
Today it means
noun Something that restrains, ties, fastens or secures.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *streyg- / restraint