Etymograph

English

restraint

Restraint comes from Old French restreinte, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke, rub, strike’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-1‘to stroke, rub, strike’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400restreinte1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500restreynte1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1968restraint1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English restraint
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1968, Robert Conquest, The Purge Begins: “At the centre of Stalin’s superiority over his competitors…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*streyg-Wiktionary, English restraint‘to stroke, rub, strike’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400restreinteWiktionary, English restraint
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500restreynteWiktionary, English restraint
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1968restraintWiktionary, English restraint. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1968, Robert Conquest, The Purge Begins: “At the centre of Stalin’s superiority over his competitors…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *streyg- ‘to stroke, rub, strike’

strike, stroke, streak, distress, stricken, stringent, stricture, 7 more

Today it means

noun Something that restrains, ties, fastens or secures.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “restraint”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *streyg- / restraint

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