trammel
noun
[ ˈtram(ə)l ]
• restrictions or impediments to freedom of action.
• "we will forge our own future, free from the trammels of materialism"
Similar:
restraint,
constraint,
curb,
check,
impediment,
obstacle,
barrier,
handicap,
bar,
block,
hindrance,
encumbrance,
disadvantage,
drawback,
snag,
stumbling block,
shackles,
fetters,
bonds,
• a three-layered dragnet, designed so that a fish entering through one of the large-meshed outer sections will push part of the finer-meshed central section through the large meshes on the further side, forming a pocket in which the fish is trapped.
• an instrument consisting of a board with two grooves intersecting at right angles, in which the two ends of a beam compass can slide to draw an ellipse.
• a hook in a fireplace for a kettle.
trammel
verb
• deprive of freedom of action.
• "we have no wish to be trammelled by convention"
Similar:
restrict,
restrain,
constrain,
hamper,
confine,
curb,
check,
hinder,
handicap,
obstruct,
impede,
interfere with,
forestall,
thwart,
frustrate,
hold back,
retard,
slow down,
cramp,
clog,
straiten,
hem in,
hamstring,
bridle,
encumber,
enmesh,
ensnare,
stymie,
Origin:
late Middle English (in trammel (sense 2 of the noun)): from Old French tramail, from a medieval Latin variant of trimaculum, perhaps from Latin tri- ‘three’ + macula ‘mesh’.
