▪ I. † reˈstrain, n. Obs.
[f. the verb.]
Restraint.
| c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. xvii. 394 Therfore thei mowe not eny punysching or eny restreyne sette to preestis or clerkis. 1601 Mary Magd. Lament. Concl. (Grosart) 139 Though Thou did forbid, 'twas no restraine. 1643 Herle Answ. Ferne 18 The King is able to doe Justice..without restraine. 1677 Hatton Corr. (Camden) 146 It looked as if they were guilty of confederacy for w{supc}{suph} they were under soe close a restraine. |
▪ II. restrain, v.1
(rɪˈstreɪn)
Forms: 4–7 restreyne, 4–5 restreyn, 4–6 restreigne, 4–7 restreign; 5 restren (5–6 Sc. restrenȝe), 6 restrean; 4–7 restrayne, 5–7 restrayn (6 restraygne), 5 restrane, 5–6 restraine, 6– restrain.
[a. OF. restrei(g)n-, restrai(g)n-, stem of restreindre, restraindre (cf. Prov. restrenher, Sp. restreñir, It. ristrignere):–L. restringĕre: see restringe v.]
1. trans. To check, hold back, or prevent (a person or thing) from some course of action. † Also const. of, and with infin.
| c 1340 Hampole Prose Tr. 7 Mare..thane to restreyne me fra all thoghtes þat I knewe agaynes Goddes will. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 872 For which Pandare myght not restreyne The terys from hise eyen for to reyne. c 1386 ― Melib. ¶46 Ther ben ful manye thynges that shul restreyne yow of vengeance takynge. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xx. 66 How may ye now fro wepynge you restreyne? 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour a viij, Fastyng..restreyneth the flessh from euylle desyres. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 55 b, The sweeter also they will be, the more you restrain the stalke from shooting vp. 1599 Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 98 Certaine of the common people were restrained from false superstition. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 171, I..restrained my curiositie from attempting to view this Castle. 1729 Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 9 This faculty tends to restrain men from doing mischief to each other. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. l. V. 245 The weakness of their Arabian brethren had restrained them from opposing his ambition. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) I. 147 The Court of Chancery will also restrain a tenant for life..from cutting down timber. 1880 L. Stephen Pope iii. 77 This independence did not restrain him from writing poetry. |
| absol. c 1400 Rom. Rose 4955 But Eelde gan ageyn restreyne From sich foly, and refreyne. |
b. Without const. To keep (one) in check or under control. Freq. refl.
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 273, I mai miselve noght restreigne, That I nam evere in loves peine. 1424 Acts Parl. Scot. (1814) II. 7/2 He sall..do his besines to restrenȝe sic trespassouris and mis-doaris. c 1440 Alph. Tales 253 Vnnethis his felows myght restren hym to spare it. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 102 Without..that oure wnworthines Restrenȝe ws, we ma..Baith land and law, and libertie agane..reskew. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 1073 Hardly..were they restrayned so, Till that the Foxe [etc.]. 1663 Cowley Ess., Liberty, If I want skill or force to restrain the Beast that I ride upon. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. Progr. (ed. 2) 2 In this plight therefore, he went home, and restrained himself as long as he could. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. iii. (1841) I. 63 Because I have not restrained them and showed them their duty. 1827 Southey Hist. Penins. War II. 67 The officers made not the slightest attempt at restraining the wretches under their command. 1877 Froude Short Stud. (1883) IV. i. vii. 82 Alexander told him that, unless peace was made, he could not restrain the archbishop longer. |
| absol. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 54 Two Principles in human nature reign; Self-love, to urge, and Reason, to restrain. 1847 C. Brontë J. Eyre xxxiv, His praise and notice were more restraining than his indifference. |
c. To place under arrest († or embargo) or in confinement; to deprive of personal liberty or freedom of action (cf. restraint n. 2 c, 2 d); also, to shut in by material barriers.
| 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1542) 699 This yere corn was verie dere, & had ben dearer if marchauntes of y⊇ styliarde had not been, & Dutche shippes restrined. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 172 b, [She] caused all the Englishe⁓men and their goodes and shippes to be restrained. 1587 Golding De Mornay i. (1592) 10 Nature and conscience (which they would haue restreaned and imprisoned). 1620–55 I. Jones Stone-Heng (1725) 8 They thought it not fit to restrain their Deities within compacted Walls. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 243 As the Moderns restrain Water, and contain it, so the Antients, this liquid Mettal. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. iii. iv. (1710) 194 No Freeman of England ought to be imprison'd, or otherwise restrain'd, without Cause shewn. 1838 Proc. Lincoln Asylum (1847) 30 Number of Patients Restrained or Secluded, and of the Instances and Hours of Restraint or Seclusion. 1844 in State Lincoln Asylum (1846) 18 One of them had been restrained for two months. |
d. To deprive (one) of liberty by restraint.
| 1530 Palsgr. 689/1 It is a sore thyng to restrayne a man of his libertye. 1583 Exec. for Treason (1675) 10 Yet was he not restrained of his liberty. a 1653 Gouge Comm. Heb. xiii. 3 At another time we may be bound and restrained of liberty. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. ii. xi, The pain..which we occasion to brutes by restraining them of their liberty. |
2. To check, to put a check or stop upon, to repress, keep down (a desire, feeling, activity, etc.).
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xvii. 43 All my vile desires þou restreynde with vertu of luf. c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 235, I ne can myne herte nought Restreyne, That I ne love him alway. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 116 He sendez his oste þider to restreyne þe malice of his enmys. c 1440 Partonope 3306* Thus shall I my body peyne Merthe and joye my hert resstrayne. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 295 He grauely restreigned and staied the heddie vndiscretenesse of the oratours. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 134 Yet hathe God hetherto restrayned the force and violence of Sathan. 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 91 Ganges..a whiles forbad them, restrayning eithers fury. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 278 It would have been impossible for me to have restrained my curiosity. 1743 Pitt in Almon Anecd. I. v. 124 The ardour of our British troops was restrained by the cowardice of the Hanoverian. 1839 F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia (1863) 37, I could hardly restrain my feelings. 1874 Green Short Hist. vii. §6. 400 As Elizabeth passed..from suspicion to terror, she no longer chose to restrain the bigotry around her. |
b. (a physical agent or force, etc.) Also absol.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxviii. (Margaret) 7 Vertu It is blud to restrenȝe, & flux of wame refrenȝe. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 128 The water mai the fyr restreigne. 1481 Caxton Myrr. iii. viii. 149 Somtyme they restrayne his heetes, and after they enlarge them. 1611 Bible Gen. viii. 2 The windowes of heauen were stopped, and the raine from heauen was restrained. 1706 Addison Rosamond ii. vi, O Queen, your lifted arm restrain! 1848 Mill Pol. Econ. I. 227 The necessity of restraining population. 1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 74 The solution must be strong in pyro and well restrained. Ibid. 417 If too long an exposure is found to have been given, restrain with..potassium bromide. |
3. To restrict, limit, confine.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2327 For God has restreyned þair powere Þat þai [sc. devils] may na man tempte ne greve. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1013 He seyd he wold nat restrayne hys lyberte. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. vi. (1885) 121 Be reason hereoff he will þe more restrayn his yeftis off oþer off his livelod. Ibid., This may in nothinge restrane the Kyngis pover. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 150, I restraine this accusation from being universall. 1654 Bramhall Just Vind. i. (1661) 2 That they did use in all ages..to limit and restrain the exercise of Papal power. 1699 Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) IV. 497 The bill for restraining the number of officers sitting in the house of commons. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art of Convers. 136 The Denomination of Gentry was much more restrained by Diogenes. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. x. 237 This trade..is confined by very particular regulations, somewhat analogous to those by which the trade of the register ships from Cadiz to the West-Indies is restrained. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) IV. 420 Conditions to restrain those powers, generally, were void, as being repugnant to the estate limited. |
b. Const. to. Now rare.
| 1509 Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 294 She restrayned her appetyte tyl one mele & tyl one fysshe on the day. 1581 Mulcaster Positions xxxix. (1887) 198 The tearme of nobilitie amongst vs, is restrained to one order. 1644 C. Jessop Angel of Ephesus 50 When the title of Bishop was restrained unto one of the Presbyters. 1692 Bentley Boyle Lect. ix. 321 The conditions of Salvation are restrain'd to those times and countries only. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 418 ¶7 His Soil is not restrained to any particular Sett of Plants. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. iii. i. xvii, He swears ‘to speak the whole truth’, without restraining it, as before, to the questions that shall be asked. 1846 Trench Mirac. xxvii. (1862) 369 The language shows that the rebuke is not restrained to him, but intended to pass on to many more. |
† 4. a. To withhold, to keep back, from one. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 198 Sche wolde him nothing elles sein Bot of hir name..; Alle othre thinges sche restreigneth. 1480 Bury Wills (Camden) 59, [I] charge myne executourez that they..kepe and restrayn from hym or them there legatis and byquestis. 1538 Starkey England i. iv. 102 Bettur hyt ys..to restreyne from the prynce such hye authoryte. 1594 West 2nd Pt. Symbol., Chancerie §144 The rents, issues, and profites therof [they] have wrongfully restreyned, perceyved, and taken to their owne use. |
| absol. 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 420/2 Yat the Tresorer of England..have power and auctorite to restreigne of alle maner of assignementz..to the somme of MM. li. |
† b. To save, keep free. Obs.—1
| c 1430 Lydg. Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 62 O welle of swetnes.., That..al oure joye fro langour didest restrayne. |
† 5. a. To forbid or prohibit (a thing) to one.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 238 b, In the whiche god restrayneth or forbyddeth man ony thynge. c 1533 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. II. 53 The said blake rentes whiche by parliament is restrayned to be any further payd by any of the Kinges subjectes. 1628 Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 268 The doubt..you may well understand to go only to the trees and timber—the coppice woods are not meant to be restrained. |
† b. To forbid or prohibit (one) to do something; to keep back from something desired. Obs.
| 1579–80 North Plutarch, Theseus (1656) 7 Restraining all manner of people to bear saile in any vessel or bottom. 1611 Bible Gen. xvi. 2 Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing. 1649 in Def. Rights Univ. Oxford (1690) 7 Restrained all bakers and brewers..to bake and brew within the city except [etc.]. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 868 The Serpent wise, Or not restraind as wee, or not obeying, Hath eat'n of the fruit. 1791 E. Inchbald Simple Story I. i. 8 He still restrained him from all authority. |
† 6. a. To draw tightly. Obs. rare.
| c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 5817 His bridel thoo he gan restreyn. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 59 A headstall of sheepes leather, which being restrain'd to keepe him from stumbling, hath been often burst. |
† b. To confine, keep; to bind, secure. Obs.—1
| 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 7 Þe philosophore seiþ, þat wiyn hath also þe propirtee to restreyne in it þe influence and vertues of gold. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 10 b/1 Those vaynes which there doe restrayne that membrane fast vnto the sculle. |
† c. To compel or constrain. Obs. rare.
| 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 103 The Subjecte is restreyned by præmunire to receive, though the Kinge be not restreyned to gyve. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. 185 By antient custome no Vestal Virgin or Flamen of Jupiter was restrained to swear. |
7. intr. a. To refrain (from something; † also with infin.). Now rare.
| 1594 Drayton Idea 337 O, Why should Nature niggardly restraine! 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 39/2 We muste suffer it to bleede till it of it selfe restraygneth and stoppeth. 1623 Massinger Dk. Milan v. ii, Thrice his desperate hand was on his sword, T'have killed them both: but he restrained. 1640 Petit. Lond. in Rushw. Hist. Coll. (1692) I. iii. 94 Hence it is that the Prelates here in England..have restrained to pray for the Conversion of our Soveraign Lady the Queen. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lx, It was impossible to restrain from laughter. |
† b. To limit or confine oneself. Obs.—1
| 1599 Sandys Europæ Spec. (1632) 15 Not to enlarge in Moderne graunts, but to restraine to one Pope of renowmed fresh memorie. |