shack·le
(shăḱəl)
[Middle English schackel, from Old English sceacel, fetter.]
noun
- A metal fastening, usually one of a pair, for encircling and confining the ankle or wrist of a prisoner or captive; a fetter or manacle.
- A hobble for an animal.
- Any of several devices, such as a clevis, used to fasten or couple.
- A restraint or check to action or progress. Often used in the plural: economic shackles that precluded further investment.
transitive verb: -led, -ling, -les.
- To confine with shackles; fetter.
- To fasten or connect with a shackle.
- To restrict, confine, or hamper. See synonyms at hamper1
derivatives
- shacḱler
- noun