Etymology

handcuffs

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Today it means: A fastening consisting of two metal rings, designed to go around a person's wrists, and connected by a chain or hinge. Full definition →

Old English handcops
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromhandcops
  2. English todayhandcuffs

1775, from hand + cuff (“end of shirtsleeve”). Possibly influenced by Old English handcops, from hand + cops (“fetter, chains”), but due to lack of continuity (centuries between Old English and modern term), generally analyzed as a re-invention.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishhandcops all →

handcuff

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.