tram·mel
(trăḿəl)
[Middle English tramale, a kind of net, from Old French tramail, from Late Latin trēmaculum, Latin trēs, three, + Latin macula, mesh.]
noun
- A shackle used to teach a horse to amble.
- Something that restricts activity, expression, or progress; a restraint.
- A vertically set fishing net of three layers, consisting of a finely meshed net between two nets of coarse mesh.
- An instrument for describing ellipses.
- An instrument for gauging and adjusting parts of a machine; a tram.
- An arrangement of links and a hook in a fireplace for raising and lowering a kettle.
transitive verb: -meled or -melled, -mel·ing or -mel·ling, -mels or -mels
- To enmesh in or as if in a fishing net. See synonyms at hamper1
- To hinder the activity or free movement of.
derivatives
- traḿmel·er
- noun