Shackled

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Bound or confined by chains or metal restraints that limit movement
2. Fastened securely with iron fetters to prevent escape or free motion
3. Held captive or restricted by physical bonds such as handcuffs or leg irons

Etymology: The chain you think of when you picture a prisoner is named after something that shook. Old English "sceacul" meant "fetter" or "shackle," and it may come from a Proto-Germanic root linked to "shake," perhaps because a loose chain rattles and swings as its wearer moves. Scholars are not fully certain of this link, since the older Indo-European root *skeg- meant shaking or stirring but not fastening. The verb grew from the noun in Middle English, when "schakelen" meant to put someone in shackles, and it could even describe protecting the legs with armor. The same chain-based sense later carried over to the nautical world, where a shackle was a metal link joining cables, and a length of cable measured between two of them took its name from that connection.

Synonyms: bound, restrained, fettered, confined, handcuffed

Antonyms: freed, liberated, released, unbound