shackle UK /ˈʃækl̩/US /ˈʃæk(ə)l/noun 12verb 9forms 5 noun[usually plural]12 •A restraint fitted over a human or animal appendage, such as an ankle, finger, or wrist, normally used in a pair joined by a chain.The prisoner lay in shackles in his gloomy cell. •(figurative) A restraint on one's action, activity, or progress.[A] Servant commonly is less free in Mind than in Condition; his very VVill seems to be in bonds and shackles, and Desire it self under a kind of Durance and Captivity. — 1664 •Synonym of hobble or hopple (“a short strap tied between the legs of a horse, allowing it to wander a short distance but not to run off”).Soles, fetters, ⁊ shackles, with horselock and pad, / a cow-house for winter, so meete to be had: / A stie for a bore, and a hogscote for hog, / a roost for thy hennes, and a couch for thy dog. — 1580 •A U-shaped piece of metal secured with a bolt or pin across the ends, or a hinged metal loop secured with a quick-release locking pin mechanism, used for attaching things together while allowing for some degree of movement; a clevis. •Part of a padlock that consists of a loop of metal (round or square in cross section) that encompasses what is being secured by the lock. •A hook, ring, or other device for connecting, holding, lifting, etc.; specifically (nautical), a small incomplete ring secured with a bolt across the ends, used to connect lengths of cable or chain together, or to keep a porthole closed. •A link for connecting railroad cars; a draglink, drawbar, or drawlink. •A length of cable or chain equal to 12½ fathoms (75 feet or about 22.9 metres), or later to 15 fathoms (90 feet or about 27.4 metres). •(dialect, UK) A dice game; also, an event at which tickets are sold for chances to be drawn to win prizes; a raffle. •(dialect, UK) A person who is idle or lazy; an idler. •(no longer used, rare) A fetter-like band worn on an appendage as an ornament; an anklet, an armlet, a bracelet, a wristlet.[M]ost of the Men and VVomen […] had all Ear-rings made of Gold, and Gold Shackles about their Legs and Arms: […] — 1697 •(Scotland, no longer used) Ellipsis of shackle-bone (“wristbone, carpal; wrist”). verb9 •To place (a person or animal) in shackles (noun etymology 1 sense 1); to immobilize or restrain using shackles.Nae doubt it's a hard thing to skulk and starve in the heather, but it's harder yet to lie shackled in a red-coat prison. — 1886 •(figurative) To inhibit or restrain the ability, action, activity, or progress of (someone or something); to render (someone or something) incapable or ineffectual.This law would effectively shackle its opposition. •To connect or couple (something) to another thing using a shackle (noun etymology 1 sense 1.1.1, etymology 1 sense 1.1.3, etc.). •[with oneself] Of two things: to connect or couple together. •To provide (something) with a shackle. •(dialect, UK) To put (something) into disorder; specifically (agriculture), to cause (standing stalks of corn) to fall over. •(dialect, UK) To rattle or shake (something). •(dialect, UK) Often followed by about: to be idle or lazy; to avoid work. •(figurative, no longer used) To combine (a substance) with another substance.Bitterness is produced by a Sulphur vvell impregnated, either vvith an Alkaline, or an Acid Salt, but also shackled vvith Earth. — 1675 formsshackled · shackling · shackles · shackleth · shacklest
