tether

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“
They had gone the length of their tether, but the tether was always there.

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Definitions (13)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding an animal in place, allowing a short radius in which it can move about.
  2. noun A similar ropelike restraint used as a safety measure, especially for young children and astronauts.
  3. noun A rope, chain, or similar restraint for holding one, especially an animal, in place, allowing a short radius in which one can move about.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (4)

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Examples (50)

  • A broken tether from the Korean tent offered additional hand-held protection.
  • Daughter Satellite has one arm, and the tether is attached at its end. —  NASASpaceFlight.com
  • Replace the quarter-inch tether with a 2. 5-inch tether, and the elevator could lift 100 times the weight. —  Discovery Channel :: Top Highlights
  • They had gone the length of their tether, but the tether was always there. —  The Imperialist
  • Jarvis wasn't at the end of his tether, although he didn't know it quite yet. —  Kottu
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Etymologies (3)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English tedir, tethir, from Old Norse tjōdhr.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly or dial. tedder; from Middle English tedir, tedyre (not found in Anglo-Saxon) = OFries. tiader, tieder, NFries. tjudder, tjodder = Middle Dutch tudder, tuyer = Middle Low German tuder, tudder, Low German töder, tüder, tider, tier = Icelandic tjōdhr = Swedish tjuder, Old Swedish tiuther = Danish töir, tether; perhaps, with formative -ther (as in rudder, formerly rother, etc.), from Anglo-Saxon teón, etc., draw, lead: see tee, tie, low. According to Skeat, of Celtic origin, from Gaelic teadhair, a tether; but this Gaelic form is prob. itself of English origin; no similar Irish or W. form occurs, and very few words of common Teutonic range are of Celtic origin. The Gaelic term may, however, be independent of the English, being apparently related to taod, a halter, rope, chain, cable, taodan, a little cord, Irish tead, teud, a cord, rope, Welsh tid, a chain, Manx teod, teid, a rope.
  2. from tether, n.
 

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/ˈtɛðər/
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