A rope or fence drawn tight around something that would otherwise spread, rise, or run further — it can still move, but only inside the line.

有一條看不見的繩子或一圈圍籬套在某個東西外面,那個東西本來會往外長、往上衝、往遠處跑,但繩子一收緊,它就只能停在這一圈裡面。字根裡的 con-(一起)加上 -strain(拉緊、綁),拼起來的動作比較像「往內收緊、綁住」。要注意的是,這個綁不是把東西壓扁或消滅,而是「畫出一個範圍,讓它只能在裡面活動」——被 constrain 的東西還在,還在動,只是不能越線。

From the word’s history

From Latin constringere (con- "together" + stringere "to bind tight"), via Old French constreindre — literally "to bind tightly together", the physical squeeze behind the modern sense of holding something within limits.

拉丁文 constringere 由 con-(一起)+ stringere(拉緊、綁緊)組成,字面就是「一起綁緊」;經古法文 constreindre 進入英文。現代 constrain 的「限制」感正是從這個把東西往內收緊、綁在一個範圍裡的實體動作延伸出來的,同源的還有 strict、restrict、strain。

Wiktionary / Online Etymology Dictionary entry for "constrain" (Latin constringere ← con- + stringere)

One branch

把東西圈在範圍裡

登入就可以看這一支怎麼連回核心畫面。

keep within a limit · verb · C2

To keep something within a limit, so it cannot grow, rise, or go as far as it might.

限制

原始詞典資料3 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,摘錄並精簡格式,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

constrainverb/kənˈstɹeɪn/

  • 1

    To force physically, by strong persuasion or pressuring; to compel; to oblige.

  • 2

    To keep within close bounds; to confine.

    • But it's not just Castlefield Corridor capacity that constrains services. All the junctions on the lines feeding into the corridor are flat, so they create conflict points as trains pass.
  • 3

    To reduce a result in response to limited resources.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary,已精簡格式;依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用,改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。