Bound
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Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
bound¹
- /ˈbaʊ̯nd/ US, UK
- /ˈbæʊ̯nd/
- /ˈbaːnd/
- /ˈbʊnd/ Northumbria
- /ˈbuːnd/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -aʊnd
Where it comes from
From Middle English bound, bund (preterite) and bounden, bunden, ibunden, ȝebunden (past participle), from Old English bund- and bunden, ġebunden respectively. See bind.
verb bownd
- simple past and past participle of bind I bound the splint to my leg.
adjective bownd
- Obliged (to). You are not legally bound to reply.
- That cannot stand alone as a free word.
- Constrained by a quantifier.
- Constipated; costive.
- Confined or restricted to a certain place. railbound
- Unable to move in certain conditions. snowbound
bound²
- /ˈbaʊ̯nd/ US, UK
- /ˈbæʊ̯nd/
- /ˈbaːnd/
- /ˈbʊnd/ Northumbria
- /ˈbuːnd/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -aʊnd
Where it comes from
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH-
Proto-Germanic *būaną
Old Norse búinnbor.
Middle English bownde
English bound
From Middle English bownde, alternation (with -d partly for euphonic effect and partly by association with Etymology 1 above) of Middle English boun, from Old Norse búinn, past participle of búa (“to prepare”).
adjective more bound · most bound · bownd
- Ready, prepared. This certain,—that a band of war / Has for two days been ready boune, / At prompt command to march from Doune […].
- Ready to start or go (to); moving in the direction (of). Which way are you bound? —I'm already homeward bound.
- Very likely (to), certain to They were bound to come into conflict eventually.
bound³
- /ˈbaʊ̯nd/ US, UK
- /ˈbæʊ̯nd/
- /ˈbaːnd/
- /ˈbʊnd/ Northumbria
- /ˈbuːnd/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -aʊnd
Where it comes from
From Middle English bounde, from Old French bunne, from Medieval Latin bodina, earlier butina (“a bound, limit”).
noun bounds · bownd
- A boundary, the border which one must cross in order to enter or leave a territory. I reached the northern bound of my property, took a deep breath and walked on.
- A value which is known to be greater or smaller than a given set of values.
bound⁴
- /ˈbaʊ̯nd/ US, UK
- /ˈbæʊ̯nd/
- /ˈbaːnd/
- /ˈbʊnd/ Northumbria
- /ˈbuːnd/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -aʊnd
Where it comes from
From Middle English bounden, from the noun (see above).
verb bounds · bounding · bounded · bownd
- To surround a territory or other geographical entity; to form the boundary of. grounds bounded on three sides by a river.
- To be the bound of.
bound⁵
- /ˈbaʊ̯nd/ US, UK
- /ˈbæʊ̯nd/
- /ˈbaːnd/
- /ˈbʊnd/ Northumbria
- /ˈbuːnd/ Northumbria
Rhymes with -aʊnd
Where it comes from
From Middle English *bounden (attested as bounten), from French bondir (“leap", "bound", originally "make a loud resounding noise”); perhaps from Late Latin bombitāre (“hum, buzz”), frequentative verb, from Latin bombus (“a humming or buzzing”).
noun bounds · bownd
- A sizeable jump, great leap. The deer crossed the stream in a single bound.
- A spring from one foot to the other in dancing.
- A bounce; a rebound. Balzo, a bound of a ball
verb bounds · bounding · bounded · bownd
- To leap, move by jumping. The rabbit bounded down the lane.
- To cause to leap. to bound a horse
- To rebound; to bounce. A rubber ball bounds on the floor.
- To cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound; to bounce. to bound a ball on the floor
Bound⁶
proper noun
- A surname.
