Dictionary

tether en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɛðəɹ/ (US)
• /ˈtɛðə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to tie”), or from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with North German Tüder (“tether for binding the cattle”), Swedish tjuder (“tether for binding cattle”).

Meanings

1. A rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement.
   • With the bulky, heavy helmet for the film strapped on, I was inside a fully immersive virtual world. With de la Peña playing minder and holding a tether which prevented me from bumping into walls, I somehow ended up inside the news story. 2013 September 25, Neal Ungerleider, “Put On A Helmet, And You’re In The Story: Why Virtual Reality Journalism Is The Future”, in Fast Company:
   • We suffer the weather / We bind and we tether / This nation together 2018, John Kander, Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Cheering For Me Now”, in Hamilton (Hamildrops):
2. (figuratively) The limit of one's abilities, resources, patience, etc.
   • Since his hours have increased, I feel that he is at the end of his tether.
3. (figuratively) An attachment to a place, time, entity or person.
   • Deeper than speech our love, stronger than life our tether, / But we do not fall on the neck nor kiss when we come together. 1909, Rudyard Kipling, A Song of the English^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Song_of_the_English_(1909)), London: Hodder & Stoughton, →OCLC, England's Answer, page 227:
   • The tether to our national identity can never feel stronger than it does over a cup of bad arena coffee in the dead of winter. 2019 August 6, Erik Koreen, “Ask Isaac: Minor hockey can be heaven, other people can be hell”, in New York Times:
   • But for toddlers who have now lived nearly 16 months in varying degrees of social isolation, the tether to before has long faded, and they now face after without clear recollections of the world to which they are returning. 2021 June 28, Caitlin Gibson, “What the ‘return to normal’ means for toddlers who no longer remember ‘normal’”, in Washington Post, archived from the original on 05 Jul 2021:
   • Despite moving, he maintained a strong tether to his culture back home.
   • what tethers us to gravity and light / has most to do with distance and the shapes / we find in water 2002, John Burnside, “History”, in The Light Trap, London: Jonathan Cape:
4. A strong rope or line that connects a sailor's safety harness to the boat's jackstay.

Forms

Deriveds

tetherless · microtether · at the end of one’s tether · detether · tetherin

Synonyms

hobble (strap)

Translations (74)

da fortøjring (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · es ronzal (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Leine (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · mk граница (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · de Halteseil (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · pl pęto (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ota كوستك (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Ende (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · ca amarra (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · it cavezza (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · fi mahdollisuuksien raja (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · cs úvaz (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · fi turvaköysi (nautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay) · es soga (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · pl pęta (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · cs řetěz (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sv fånglina (nautical: line that connects safety harness to jackstay) · ms suntuk fikiran (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · es atadero (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sv ankartross (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · nl grens (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · sh privez (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · it portata (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · es cuerda (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · es atadura (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · nl snoer (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · it briglia (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · cs provaz (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ga teaghrán (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · it guinzaglio (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ru страхо́вочная верёвка (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Haltegurt (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · da tøjr (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · mk јаже (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Spannseil (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Schnur (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · it redine (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · no tjor (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ru при́вязь (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ru грани́ца (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · nl einde (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · fi lieka (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sv förankringslina (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · as এৰাল (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · pt amarra (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · nl limiet (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · as পঘা (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ms rantai tambat (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Schnürung (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · es dogal (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · es atadijo (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · pt peia (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Strick (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sh oputa (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · it campo (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · gl amarre (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · es cabresto (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Limit (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · ms tali tambat (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · fr longe (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · izh kytyt (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · pl uwięź (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sh sputanost (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · pl postronek (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · nl kabel (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · de Grenze (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · az qayış (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · es cabestro (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sv tjuder (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · tl soga (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ru преде́л (limit of one's abilities, resources etc) · nl lijn (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · sv ankarkätting (rope, cable etc. that holds something in place whilst allowing some movement) · ms buntu fikiran (limit of one's abilities, resources etc)

tether en · VERB · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ˈtɛðəɹ/ (US)
• /ˈtɛðə/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English tether, teder, from Old English *tēoder and/or Old Norse tjóðr ( > Danish tøjr, Swedish tjuder); both from Proto-Germanic *teudrą (“rope; cord; shaft”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *dewtro-, from Proto-Indo-European *dew- (“to tie”), or from Proto-Indo-European *dewk- (“to pull”). Cognate with North German Tüder (“tether for binding the cattle”), Swedish tjuder (“tether for binding cattle”).

Meanings

1. (transitive) To restrict with, or as if with, a tether.
   • The cowboy tethered his horse outside the saloon.
2. (transitive) To connect to something else.
   • The younger Targaryen feels as though she’s lost any intimacy that tethered her to compassion and humanity, and so all that remains is the imperious need to rule that has driven her all these years, now bereft of the warmth that previously tempered her. 2019 May 12, Alex McLevy, “Westeros faces a disastrous final battle on the penultimate Game of Thrones (newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 May 2019:
3. (Internet, transitive) To connect to something else. ▸ To connect (a smartphone) to a personal computer in order to give the computer access to the phone's Internet connection.

Forms

Deriveds

untether · tetherable · retether

Translations (33)

it tenere al guinzaglio (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · it imbrigliare (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · de koppeln (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · pt amarrar (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · it incatenare (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · ms tambat (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · cmn 共享网络 (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · ru привяза́ть (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · es atortolar (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · sv förankra (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · ota كوستكلمك (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · fi panna liekaan (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · pt acoplar (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · de anbinden (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · nl vastmaken (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · es apersogar (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · de zusammenschalten (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · fr attacher (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · pt conectar (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · sv tjudra (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · sv sammankoppla (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · es acoplar (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · sv ankra (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · de anleinen (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · nl binden (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · es conectar (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · es acordonar (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · es amarrar (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · es atar (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · es enlazar (to connect a PC and a smartphone) · de festmachen (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · de beschränken (to restrict something with or as if with a tether) · ru привя́зывать (to restrict something with or as if with a tether)

tether en · NUM · etymology 2

Meanings

1. (alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of tethera.
   alt of tethera