Etymology

throttle

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Today it means: A valve that regulates the supply of fuel-air mixture to an internal combustion engine and thus controls its speed; a similar valve that controls the air supply to an engine. Full definition →

Middle English *throtel
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throttle · noun1

  1. Middle English · inherited from*throtel
  2. English todaythrottle

From Middle English *throtel, diminutive of throte (“throat”), equivalent to throat + -le. Compare German Drossel (“throttle”). More at throat.

throttle · verb2

  1. Middle English · inherited fromthrotlen“to choke, strangle, suffocate”
  2. English todaythrottle

From Middle English throtlen (“to choke, strangle, suffocate”), from the noun (see above). Compare German erdrosseln (“to strangle, choke, throttle”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.