▪ I. bind, v.
(baɪnd)
Pa. tense and pple. bound (baʊnd). Forms: 1 bind-an, 2–4 bind-en, 2–7 binde, (3–6 bynd(e, 4 bynd-en, 5 -yn), 3– bind. pa. tense sing. 1–6 band, 1–5 bond, (3–5 bonde, 4–5 boond(e, 4–6 bande, bounde), 5– bound, (7 binded; Sc. band, ban'); pl. 1 bundon, 2–3 -en, 3 -e, 3–4 bounden, (4–5 bonde(n, 5– bound, (north. 4–5 bande, 5– band, ban'). pa. pple. 1–4 bunden, (1–2 ᵹebunden, 2–3 ibunde(n, 3–4 ibounde(n, 4 ybounde(n, 6 ybound), 4– bounden, 4–6 bounde, 5– bound, (also 3–4 bonden, 4 -in, boundoun, 4–5 bonde, -yn, boundon, -yn, 4–6 bownde(n, 5 bowndene, -yn(e, 6 -on, 7 binded; north. 4–6 bundin, 5 -yn, bwndyn, 6–7 bund, 5– bun).
[Com. Teut.: OE. bindan, pa. tense band (bǫnd), pl. bundon, pple. bunden = OS. bindan (MDu., Du. binden), OFris., ON. binda (Sw. binda, Da. binde), OHG. bintan (MHG., mod.G. binden), Goth. bindan, pa. tense band, bundum, pple. bundans; cogn. with Skr. bandh:—Aryan *bhendh to bind. As in other words with -nd, the originally short vowels of bind, bunden (still retained in the north. dial., as in the cognate langs.) have been lengthened and diphthongized in midl. and south. Eng. The north. dial. also retains the original past form band (which it has extended to the pl.), while in the standard speech band was supplanted already in the 15th c. by bound, proper to the pl. and to the pa. pple.]
General sense: To make fast with a band or bond.
I. To tie fast.
1. a. trans. To make fast with a tie; to fasten, tie up.
| [c 1000 ælfric Gen. xlii. 24 He..nam Simeon and band hine beforan him.] c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2216 Ðo breðere seckes hauen he filt..And bunden ðe muðes. a 1300 Cursor M. 15871 His hend þai band and ledd him forth. 1535 Coverdale Gen. xxii. 9 Abraham..bande his sonne Isaac, layed him on the altare. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 7 Fast binde fast finde. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Observ. I. 215 The fascia, which binds it down in its situation. 1855 Thackeray Rose & Ring xvii, They..bound his legs tight under his horse. |
b. To tie fast to (on, upon).
| 1205 Lay. 16684 Samuel..lette hine swiðe sterke to ane stake binde [1250 bynde]. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. xcv. 75 They..take pyeces of tunder and of fire, and bonde it to the sparwes fete. 1611 Bible Deut. vi. 8 Thou shalt bind them for a seal upon thine hand. |
c. fig.
| 1382 Wyclif Prov. vi. 21 Bind hem bisili in thin herte. 1563 Mirr. Mag. Induct. xxxviii, To this poore life was Miserie ybound. 1610 Healey St. Aug. City of God 438 To binde incomprehensible effectes to the lawes of nature. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. xiv. 328 To bind Cæsar faster to their Interest. 1810 Scott Lady of L. ii. xxx, Distrust, and grief, Will bind to us each Western Chief. 1866 Ecce Homo xiv. (ed. 4) 166 To bind men to their kind. |
d. esp. said of spiritual or ecclesiastical binding. (In reference to Matt. xvi. 19.)
| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xvi. 19 Swa hwæt swa þu bindes on eorðan ᵹebunde biðon and in heofunum. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 65 Al þat prest bindeð soðliche buð ibunden. a 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3850 ‘Alle þat þou byndes in erthe,’ says he, ‘Sal in heven bunden be.’ 1340 Ayenb. 172 He ssel zeche zuch ane confessour þet conne bynde and onbynde. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 28 If ilk prest mai vse þe key..to assoile him, or ellis to bind him fro grace. 1611 Bible Matt. xvi. 19 Whatsoeuer thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heauen. |
¶ See also Branch IV.
2. esp. a. To make fast (any one) with bonds or fetters; to deprive of personal liberty, make a captive or prisoner.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 23 Hie hine swungon, & bundon, & spǽtledon on his onsyne. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 23 He ferde in to helle and..bond þe deuel. 1382 Wyclif Jer. xxxix. 7 He..bond [1388 boond] hym in gyues. ― Matt. xiv. 3 Forsothe Eroude helde Joon, & bounde hym, & putte him in to prisoun. 1535 Coverdale Isa. lxi. 1 Y{supt} I might..open the preson to them that are bounde. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 574 Surprize him first, and with hard Fetters bind. 1742 Pope Dunciad iv. 32 Too mad for mere material chains to bind. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 318 My father bound him hand and foot and threw him into a ditch. |
b. fig. Said of sickness, sin, passion, affection, intellectual embarrassment, a magic spell, etc.
| [c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xiii. 16 Þas abrahames dohtor þe satanas ᵹeband nu eahtatyne ᵹear.] c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 63 Þenne bie we bunden of wiðerfulnesse. a 1225 Ancr. R. 408 Luue bint so ure Louerd. 1382 Wyclif Luke xiii. 16. c 1400 Destr. Troy xxiii. 9542 Achilles..lay in his loge all with loue boundon. c 1450 York Bid. Prayer in Layfolks Mass Bk. 70 We sall pray..for all þaes þat er bun in dette or in dedely syn. 1634 Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 174 The magistrate (say they)..hath no power to bind the conscience. 1853 Lytton My Novel viii. ii, The magician will release the fair spirit he has bound to his will. |
¶ See also Branch IV.
II. To tie about, bandage, gird, encircle.
3. To tie (a knot obs.); hence fig. to conclude (a story obs., a bargain or agreement), to make (any contract) fast or sure. † to bind an end (Naut.): to finish up (obs.).
| a 1300 Sarmun 53 in E.E.P. (1862) 6 Þe last word bint þe tale. c 1320 Sir Tristr. i. v, A forward fast thai bond. c 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 825 That cunnand band thai sekirly. 1567 Declar. Lordis Quarrel (Dalzell) II. 274 Syne with his Burrio band ane new mariage. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. i. 16 The sooner to effect, And surer binde this knot of amitie. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Scot. (1655) 7 None of the Subjects should bind up a league together. 1677 Act Frauds xvii, Give something in earnest to bind the bargain. 1883 T. Hardy in Longm. Mag. July 259 A shilling is passed to bind the bargain. |
4. ‘To hinder the natural flux of the bowels, to make costive.’ J. Cf. to confine.
| [c 1050 Ags. Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker Voc. 342 Astringentes, ᵹebindende.] 1597 Gerard Herbal i. xxix. §2. 40 It heateth moderately and bindeth. 1626 Bacon Sylva §19 Rubarb hath manifestly in it..parts that bind the body. 1683 Salmon Lond. Disp. i. i. (1702) 11/1 Hyacinthi..bind the Belly. 1815 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 5) IV. 197/1 The fruit [Medler-tree]..is somewhat austere, and binds the bowels. |
5. To bandage (the body, etc. with something); to put a bandage on (any part of the body); to ‘swaddle’ a child, to ‘wind’ a corpse.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xi. 44 Hys nebb wæs mid swat-line ᵹebunden. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 121 Summe þer weren þet his eȝan bundan. a 1300 Cursor M. 11236 Wit suilk [clathes] sco suedeld him and band. 1382 Wyclif John xix. 40 Thei token the body of Jhesu, and bounden it in lynnen clothis. 1694 Salmon Iatrica i. v. 284/1 To bind her Belly with a large swathing-band. 1837 Penny Mag. No. 335 A schöppe..bound his eyes and led him to where the court was sitting. 1838 S. Cooper Surg. Dict. 691 This graduated compress is then to be bound on the part with a roller. |
6. ‘To cover a wound with dressings and bandages.’ J. Usually with up.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 An helendis Mon..bond his wunden. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 70 [The Samaritan] embawmed hym and bonde his hed. 1382 Wyclif Luke x. 34 He comynge nyȝ bond to gidere his woundis. 1490 Caxton Eneydos li. 145 He made his thye to be dressed and bounden vp. 1568 Bible (Bishops') Hosea vi. 1 Hee hath wounded vs, and hee will binde vs vp. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 177 Giue me another Horse, bind vp my Wounds. 1786 T. Jefferson Corr. (1830) 50 Who can so softly bind up the wound? 1816 Crabbe Eng. Synon. 161/2 A wounded leg is bound but not tied; a string is tied but not bound. |
7. To fasten round, to gird, encircle, wreathe (the head, etc. with something; something about, round the head, etc.).
| c 1000 ælfric Lev. viii, And band his heafod mid claþe. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 33 His typet y-bounde aboute his heed. 1552 Huloet, Bynde vp, as a woman doth her heade. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 333 Bound with Triumphant Garlands will I come. 1607 ― Cor. i. iii. 16 His browes bound with Oake. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. viii. 89 Bind those Altars round With Fillets. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 178 A belt her waist, a fillet binds her hair. 1870 Tennyson Holy Grail 159, I, maiden, round thee, maiden, bind my belt. |
8. To secure with a border or edging of some strengthening material, as a box or jewel with metal, a garment with braid, etc.; also fig.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 349 Hem failen charite to bynde her schelde in ordre. 1464 Inv. Dk. Suffolk in Dom. Archit. III. 113 A gret standard of the chapell bounde with ierne. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xlv. 11 A worke..set with costly precious stones, all bounde with golde. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 881 A flowrie verge to binde The fluid skirts of that same watrie Cloud. 1682 Dryden Mac Fl. 64 Close to the walls which fair Augusta bind. 1808 R. Porter Trav. Sk. Russ. & Swed. ii. (1813) I. 17 A sort of low beef-eater hat bound with yellow. Mod. Silk binding to bind coats and vests. |
III. To tie together, to unite.
9. a. To tie (a number of things) so as to hold them together, or to form them into a single mass; esp. to tie up (sheaves of corn).
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 30 Gadriað ærest þonne coccel, and bindað sceafmælum. a 1225 Ancr. R. 254 Heo schulen beon ibunden togederes. 1382 Wyclif Matt. xiii. 30 Gedre ȝee to gedre dernels, and byndeth hem to gidre in knytchis [1611 binde them in bundels] for to be brent. 1580 Baret Alv. B 686 To binde with osiers or twigs, as hoopers do. 1611 Bible Ps. cxxix. 7 Hee that bindeth sheaues. 1632 Milton Allegro 87 Her bow'r she leaves, With Thestylis to bind the sheaves. 1750 Franklin Wks. (1840) 238 Bind the pieces of glass together from end to end with strong silk thread. a 1832 Crabbe Posth. Tales Wks. 1834 VIII. 162 What time the reaper binds the burden'd sheaf. 1861 O. W. Holmes Elsie V. xxviii, Old Sophy..bound up her long hair for her sleep. |
| absol. 1770 A. Young Tour N. Eng. I. 189 A man follows every two scythes to bind. |
b. fig.
| 1568 Bible (Bishops') 1 Sam. xxv. 29 The soule of my lorde shal be bounde in the bundel of the liuing. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iv. 20 The jarring Nations he in peace shall bind. 1785 T. Jefferson Corr. (1830) 417 Friendships which had bound their ancestors together. c 1854 Stanley Sinai & Pal. ii. (1858) 116 The situation of Palestine is remarkably bound up with its future destinies. |
10. a. To cement (particles) together, or cause them to cohere in a firm mass. spec. in Cookery.
| a 1000 Exon. 78 a (Bosw.) Hrusan [MS. hruse] bindeþ wintres wóma. a 1300 Cursor M. 355 Þis elementz þat al thinges bindes Four er þai. c 1440 Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 435 Qwhen the sawse is bounden to the felettes, then take hom out of the pot. c 1760 Smollett Blue ey'd Ann 3 When Lybian sands are bound in frost. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 218 Stiff and loamy soils, which become hardened and bound. 1861 Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. x. 199 Pound well, and bind with 1 or 2 eggs. 1871 Ruskin Fors Clav. II. xvi. 10 That rain and frost of heaven; and the earth which they loose and bind. 1962 Listener 29 Nov. 943/2 You will need..beaten egg (to bind). 1963 Ibid. 14 Mar. 479/1 Mix together the stuffing ingredients, binding with beaten egg. |
b. intr. (for refl.) To stick together, cohere in a mass.
| 1674 Grew Luctation ii. §15 Their Alkaly binds in with some preternatural Acid in the Stomach. 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 240 Soiling it [chalk land] with the best mould..to keep it from binding. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 37 The Mettal running close to the Spindle will bind on that place. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 179 ¶8 A spacious Walk of the finest Gravel, made to bind and unite so firmly. 1838 N. Paterson Manse Gard. iii. 210 The coarse [gravel], it is true does not bind. |
c. intr. Hawking. To grapple or close with.
| 1575 Turberv. Falconry 255 As diuers times it happeneth to the falcon..when they binde togither in the ayre. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 76 Nothing flieth in the aire that they will not bind with. 1826 Sebright in ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. iv. i. § 10 When one of the hawks seizes his prey, the other soon binds to him. |
11. a. trans. To fasten together the sheets of (a book), and put it into a stiff cover. Technically ‘binding’ is covering with leather, vellum, or other durable material; though in ordinary language we say ‘bound in cloth.’ A book is half-bound when it has a leather back, and the sides covered with cloth or paper.
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 3317 The sexte had a sawtere semliche bowndene. 1509 Barclay Shyp of Folys (1874) i. 20 I haue them [my books] in great reuerence..Full goodly bounde in pleasaunt couerture. 1588 Marprel. Epist. (Arb.) 34 That no Byble should be bounde without the Apocripha. 1637 Decree Star-Chamb. §7 in Milton's Areop. (Arb.) 13 No person..shall bind, stitch, or put to sale, any such booke. 1727 Swift Further Acc. E. Curll Wks. 1755 III. i. 156 He always binds in sheep. 1851 Longfellow Gold. Leg. ii. 113 A huge tome, bound In brass and wild-boar's hide. |
b. to bind up: i.e. together into one volume.
| 1650 R. Stapylton Strada's Low C. Warres iv. 95 It is printed, and bound up with her life. 1682 Grew Anat. Plants Ep. Ded., An Animal is..several Plants bound up into one Volume. 1875 E. White Life in Christ ii. xvi. (1878) 183 The fragment on Hades, formerly bound up with the works of Josephus. |
12. Hedging. To interlace stakes with edder.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. (1534) 54 Set thy stakes within ii. foote and a halfe together, excepte thou haue very good edderynge, and longe, to bynde with. Ibid. The better the stake wil be dryuen, whan he is wel bounden. |
13. transf. To fasten together or connect in various ways, as to harness a horse or chariot (obs.), to fasten parts of dress (poetic), to connect distant places (rhet.); and in various fig. uses.
| 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. vii. 8 Bynde not two synnes together. ― Ex. xiv. 6 He bounde his charetts fast [Wyclif, ioynede the chare]. 1611 Bible Micah i. 13 Bind the chariot to the swift beast. 1720 Gay Ep. T. Snow, A sharpen'd skewer cross his bare shoulders bound A tattered rug. 1836 O. W. Holmes Poems, My Aunt, She strains the aching clasp That binds her virgin zone. 1855 Motley Dutch Rep. (1884) I. 3 To bind by watery highways with the furthest ends of the World, a country disinherited by nature of its rights. 1860 Keble Hymn ‘The voice that’, Thou didst bind two natures In Thine eternal bands. |
IV. To restrain or unite by non-material bonds. (Closely connected with the fig. uses of 1, 2, from which these senses spring.)
14. To tie, restrain, confine, restrict by a non-material bond or force of any kind.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23748 We ar bunden vnder þair au. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 35 Þe Walsch men he band With homage and feaute. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 90 When poysoned houres had bound me vp From mine owne knowledge. 1647 Campion Art Descant. ii. 27 No Tune..can have any grace or sweetness unless it be bounden within a proper Key. 1713 Derham Phys. Theol. viii. ii, The great Contriver of Nature is not bound up to one Way only. 1838 Macaulay in Trevelyan Life (1876) II. vii. 14, I have no official business to bind me. |
15. a. To tie (a person, oneself) up in respect to action; to oblige by a covenant, oath, promise or vow. Const. to, from, an action, to do something.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 6 Hwoa se..bihat hit God alse heste to donne, heo bint hire þerto. c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 47 He bynt him to perpetuall obeisaunce. c 1440 York Myst. xxxii. 217, I will me bynde to be your man. 1535 Coverd. Numb. xxx. 2 Yf eny man..sweare an ooth, so that he binde his soule. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. 71 A Covenant, if lawfull, binds in the sight of God, without the Oath. 1654 Earl of Orrery Parthenissa (1676) 640 What I bind my self from now, I will abjure for ever for your sake. 1832 Chalmers Pol. Econ. v, A landed proprietor may bind himself to a future payment, in a written deed. |
† b. intr. (for refl.) To agree, pledge oneself.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace vi. 927 Than bund thai thus; thar suld be no debait. c 1817 Hogg Tales & Sk. II. 215 He would voluntarily bind for it. |
16. trans. To oblige or constrain with legal authority.
| 1463 Paston Lett. 473 II. 133 Your certificat..shall bynd any of the parties to sey the contrary. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 161 For the lawe of the chirche..byndeth vs to synge or saye our seruyce diligently. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis ii. (Arb.) 48 What law can bynd mee, to be trew to so wycked a countrey? 1775 Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 45 Whether the English laws could bind Ireland. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 375 Every parish was bound to repair the highways which passed through it. |
17. To subject to a specific legal obligation. a. To make (a person or estate) liable for the payment of a debt, or fulfilment of an obligation. Usually pass.: To be made or become surety.
| 1462 Mann. & Househ. Exp. 149 My mastyre and Thomas Howe are bowndyne..to my lord of Esex, lx, li. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 5 For the which, as I told you, Anthonio shall be bound. 1650 T. B[ayley] Worcester's Apoph. 69 Offering to bind her estate for the repayment. 1727 Swift Wonder of W. Wks. 1755 II. ii. 54 He has hardly one acquaintance, for whom he hath not been bound. 1772 Mackenzie Man of World ii. ix. (1823) 476, I will become bound to make up all your losses. |
b. To lay under obligation to answer or prosecute a charge (usually to bind over to appear, etc.), or gen. to perform a stated act or pursue a line of conduct. Freq. to bind over (used without following to and dependent phrase): to oblige (a person) to undertake to do, or abstain from, a particular act; spec. to make (someone) give a recognizance not to commit a breach of the peace, usu. for a specified period.
| 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Matrim., Yf any man..will be bound, and sureties with him to the parties. 1592 Greene Art Conny-catch. ii. 12 They were apprehended, and bound ouer to the Sessions at Westminster. 1610 W. Yonge Diary 28 May (1848) 21 Being asked by Mr. Drake wherefore he was bound over, he said for a private grudge borne him by the bishop. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. xii. 299 He is not to be bound to the peace. c 1702 J. P. New Guide Constables 106 Such Parents may be bound over..to answer their sad default. 1764 T. Cunningham Law-Dict. s.v. Good behaviour, This statute..seems to impower them, not only to bind over those, who seem to be notoriously troublesome,..but also those who are publickly scandalous. 1820 Tomlins Law-Dict. (ed. 3) s.v. Surety of the peace, A Peer or Peeress cannot be bound over in any other place than the Courts of King's Bench or Chancery. Ibid., A justice may bind over all night-walkers. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xiii. 109 The Mayor..declared he would..bind them over to keep the peace. 1917 Oxford Jrnl. Illustr. 17 Jan. 8/3 The prisoner was bound over for twelve months. 1970 Oxf. Mail 6 Jan. 5 Judge Mais told him that in binding him over there was no possible slur cast upon him. |
c. to bind one (over) to his good behaviour. lit. and fig.
| 1642 Rogers Naaman 40 Till the Lord binde the soule to her good behaviour. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 79 It pretended to bind books to their good behaviour. 1760 Life of Cat 108 Sufficient..to bind him down to his good behaviour. 1829 Southey Sir T. More I. 142 The members would virtually be bound to their good behaviour. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 559 He thought it unjust..to bind him over to his good behaviour. |
d. colloq. I dare, or will be bound: I undertake the responsibility of the statement, I feel certain.
| 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. (1582) 399 b, I dare be bound..he shal not want infinit troubles. 1589 Theses Martinianæ Introd., Ile bee bounde hee shall not loose his labour. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iv. iii. 18, I dare be bound hee's true. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. v. ii, I'll be bound that no soul here can budge a foot to follow you. 1850 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom xxviii, You've been stealing something, I'll be bound. |
18. to be bound: to be under obligation, to have it as a duty, moral or legal, to do something.
| c 1360 Deo Gratias in E.E.P. (1862) 125 To þonke and blesse hym we be bounde. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 291 Thou art ybounden..To helpen me. 1484 Caxton Chyualry 15 So moche arte thow more bonde and bounden to be good. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 522 That she is bound in honor still to do. 1607–12 Bacon Counsel, Ess. (Arb.) 318 Princes are not bound to communicate all matters. 1771 Junius Lett. liv. 283, I am not bound to assign the..motives of his..hatred. 1852 M{supc}Culloch Taxation ii. i. 158 Government..is bound to treat all its subjects alike. |
19. To engage or unite in matrimony.
| 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 40 He wild him bynd to som berde in boure. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. vii. 27 Thou art boundyn to a wyf. 1580 Baret Alv. B 1027 Moreouer I am bounde to my wife. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. iv. 59 As mariage binds and blood breakes. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 338 To bind in law, the couple bound by love. |
20. To indenture (any one) to a master, or to a trade, as an apprentice or learner; to apprentice. Sometimes with out or over.
| c 1500 in Halliw. Nugæ P. 20 The preste that bounde me prentys. 1586 in Wadley Bristol Wills (1886) 251 Twenty shillings to John Stinchcome yf he be bownde. 1602 Life T. Cromwell i. ii. 80 Had I bound him to some honest trade. a 1672 Wood Life (1848) 89 note, Imploying the yearly profits..in binding forth apprentices into other parishes. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 196 ¶3 [I] have bound him to a Shoe⁓maker. 1845 Stephen Laws Eng. II. 230 Apprentices are usually bound out by their friends; though their own consent is essential. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair ii, Rebecca..was bound-over as an articled-pupil. |
21. To attach to (a person) by ties of duty, gratitude, affection, etc.
| 1530 Palsgr. 362, I am bownden to no man. 1595 Shakes. John iii. iii. 29, I am much bounden to your Maiesty. 1634 W. Wood New Eng. Prosp. Ded. Note, The good assurance of your native worth..hath so bound my thankfull acknowledgement. 1682 Pepys' Diary VI. 147, I am infinitely bound to my friends..for their thoughts of me. 1765 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 71 The way in which you take up my affairs binds me to you in a manner I cannot express. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth II. 181 Simon Glover, to whom the Fair City is so much bounden. |
V. slang.
22. trans. To bore, weary.
| 1929 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 640 Voyages are binding things, & I'm lucky to have had this job to keep me busy. 1943 C. H. Ward-Jackson Piece of Cake 13 Bind, a depressing job or situation, one who is a bore. Used as a verb it suggests a petty or depressing order or regulation... Thus, ‘It's a perfect bind, old boy’, or ‘Smith's got his tapes: I suppose he'll be binding everyone now’, or ‘He's the worst binder I ever served under’... Binds you rigid, binds you stiff, bores you completely. 1944 E. Partridge in 19th Cent. CXXXV. 184 To bind a person is to bore him stiff; probably from the ill-temper that so often results from being bound or constipated; but perhaps from the fact that such a duty as is a tie may easily become boring. |
23. intr. To complain. (In quot. 1942 used transitively, to complain to, to admonish.)
| 1942 I. Gleed Arise to Conquer i. 11 We stayed sitting in our cockpits listening to Pat binding the ground station on the radio telephone. 1943 Penguin New Writing XVII. 18 ‘Stop binding,’ said Ginger mechanically... ‘When I get back to civvy street I'll never moan about my job again.’ 1948 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LII. 719 It is useless to expect information on maintenance difficulties..because usually the operator ‘binds’ to himself or his mates on encountering a snag. 1955 W. Fink in P. Chambers & A. Landreth Called Up vi. 115, I dare say we would have binded more about all this bull if it hadn't been that there was a system by which the best hut got a forty-eight hour pass. 1959 ‘D. Buckingham’ Wind Tunnel viii. 73 Eddy's been binding to Vic about you. |
Add: [III.] [10.] d. trans. Chem. and Biochem. To combine chemically with; to form a chemical bond with.
| 1928 Jrnl. Gen. Physiol. VIII. 271 The data appear to indicate that part of the metallic element is bound by casein in such a way as to produce a complex ion. 1930 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. LXXXVIII. 265 For 1 cc. of solution the glutamic acid will bind 0.07 mg. of iron. 1968 Passmore & Robson Compan. Med. Stud. I. xxix. 19/2 The possession by blood of carbonic anhydrase, and of buffers which bind H+ , is the chief reason why blood is a better carrier of CO2 than water. 1970 R. W. McGilvery Biochem. vi. 116 The peptide chains of such enzymes have a third function. In addition to binding the substrate and providing groups required for catalysis, they also must be capable of binding the coenzyme. 1988 New Scientist 10 Dec. 17/2 The coral soil is basically composed of calcium carbonate which will bind strontium-90. |
e. intr. Chem. and Biochem. To combine chemically with; to become chemically bound to.
| 1959 A. White et al. Princ. Biochem. (ed. 2) xii. 208 Carbon monoxide competes with oxygen in binding with hemoglobin. 1965 Biochim. & Biophys. Acta CIII. 532 (heading) Failure of tetracycline to bind to Escherichia coli ribosomes. 1973 Nature 14 Sept. 64/2 ‘Paraquat’ seems to have a particular affinity for lung tissue, where it probably binds to cell membranes. 1979 D. R. Hofstadter Gödel, Escher, Bach (1980) xvi. 516 Each base in one strand faces a complementary base in the other strand, and binds to it. 1982 Sci. Amer. June 50/3 Glutamate or aspartate..supply negatively charged carboxylate (COO-) groups; it is primarily these groups that bind to the calcium ion. |
▪ II. bind, n.
(baɪnd)
Also 4–6 bynde: see bine.
[f. bind v.]
1. a. Anything used to bind or tie; a band or tie. Our Lady's binds (obs.): confinement at childbirth. Cf. bend n.1 1 d, band n.1 1 c.
| a 1000 Cod. Dip. (Kemble) VI. 133 (Bosw.), Hio an Ceoldryþe hyre betstan bindan. c 1400 Bidding Prayer in York Manual (1874) App. 221 Wymmen þat bethe in oure lady byndes. |
b. A connecting timber in a ship.
| 1803 Hull Advert. 9 Apr. 2/1 The ship..had new binds and new top sides. 1833 Richardson Merc. Mar. Arch. 6 The best place for the upper bind is about 3/4 of the midship height. |
c. Music. ‘A curved line (also called tie) placed between two notes of the same degree, to denote the continuance of the sound, during the value of both, instead of the repercussion of the second note.’ Grove Dict. Mus. 1880. Also applied by some to the brace or accolade.
| 1880 Grove Dict. Mus. I. 242/2 The employment of the bind is a necessity whenever a sound is required to be of a duration which cannot be expressed by any single note. |
2. A twining or climbing stem of a plant; a flexible shoot. a. esp. The climbing stem of the hop-plant. b. Used to name varieties of the hop, as grey-bind, red-bind, white-bind. Now bine.
| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 444 God..ded growe of þat soyle Þe fayrest bynde..þat euer burne wyste. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 36 Bynde, a twyste of a vyne. 1792 Gentl. Mag. Apr. 343 Hop Stalks or Binds. 1815 Encycl. Brit. III. 618 Bind, a country word for a stalk of hops. [See bine.] |
3. Hence, used as the name of certain climbing plants that wind round the stems of other plants or trees. † a. Honeysuckle or wood-bine. b. = bindweed (Convolvulus and Polygonum).
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 36 Bynde or Wode bynde, corrigiola, vitella. 1575 Gascoigne Wks. (1587) 189 Tares and Byndes can pluck good grayne adowne. 1878 Britten & Holland Plant-n., Common Bind, Convolvulus [wild]. |
4. a. Indurated clay, occurring between coal-strata.
| 1799 Kirwan Geol. Ess. 297 Indurated clay, which the miners commonly call clunch, and when much mixed with calx of iron, bind. Ibid. 301 Black shale, iron stone, shale, blue bind. 1844 H. Hutchinson Pract. Drainage 173 Red clay and skerry or bine. 1864 Derby Merc. 7 Dec., The fall of bind suddenly liberating a quantity of bad air. |
b. A thin stratum of shale or stone.
| 1748 Phil. Trans. XLV. 126 The upper Pillars..lying between two Binds of Stone like Seams of Coal. |
5. A measure of quantity in salmon and eels.
| 1477 Sc. Act Jas. III (1597) §76 Of the bind of Salmond. 1487 Ibid. §131 The Barrell bind of Salmound sould..contein the assyse and mesour of fourteene gallonis. 1667 E. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. iii. ii. (1743) 154 Eels have 25 to the Strike; 10 Strikes to the Bind. a 1728 Kennett Gloss. (MS. Lansd. 1033) A Bind of eels..consisted of ten sticks, and every stick of twenty five eels. [In mod. Dicts.] |
6. Capacity, measure, limit, size. aboon my bind: beyond my power. Sc. Cf. bend.
| 1551 Acts Mar. xi. (Jam.) The wylde Guse of the greit bind, iis. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus i. 122 His hois they war..Of biggest bind. 1823 Scott St. Ronan's i, Their bind was just a Scots pint over-head, and a tappit-hen. |
7. A bruise on a horse's foot caused by the pressure of a nail on the sensitive parts.
| 1908 Animal Managem. 239 ‘Pricks’, wounds from nails driven into the fleshy part, and ‘presses’, or ‘binds’, from their being so close that they bruise them. |
8. A bore, nuisance (cf. bind v. 22). slang.
| 1930 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 676 Letter writing is what the R.A.F. call a ‘bind’. 1942 Penguin New Writing XIII. 24 Occasionally..it publishes a serious article... But this is regarded as a ‘bind’, i.e. boring and tiresome. 1943 [see bind v. 22]. 1953 ‘N. Shute’ In Wet viii. 272 But it's an awful bind for you, at such a time as this. |
9. A difficult situation, a predicament. (In quot. 1851, = ‘(tight) squeeze’.) Cf. double bind s.v. double a. 6. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
| 1851 Let. 27 Mar. in N. E. Eliason Tarheel Talk (1956) iv. 127, I scuffle hard but can not get along... It is a very tight bind for me to live... I am not worth five dollars. 1946 Sat. Even. Post 30 Mar. 45/2 Amon Carter was out of the state at the time, but when he heard Dallas would get the centennial, it threw him in a hard bind. 1969 D. Acheson Present at Creation (1970) xxix. 258 Seeking..American help in escaping from the bind in which British treaties with Egypt and Jordan placed him. 1974 K. Millett Flying (1975) iii. 355 He is nonplussed. Has probably been in this bind a hundred times. Whole movie business runs on credit. 1986 Sunday Times 23 Feb. 21/1 Mrs. Thatcher and Tebbit..are clearly in a bind. |