bridle

What it means

1. equestrianismThe headgear with which a horse is directed and which carries a bit and reins.

   […] the horseman, who is the user of bridles and knows their use

   1961, J. A. Philip, “Mimesis in the Sophistês”, in Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association, 92, p. 457

2. figurativelyA restraint; a curb; a check.

   Let wisdom put a bridle on them before they are grown head-strong and unruly

   1729, Isaac Watts, The Doctrine of the Passions explain'd and improv'd

3. A length of line or cable attached to two parts of something to spread the force of a pull, as the rigging on a kite for attaching line.

In a sentence

[…] the horseman, who is the user of bridles and knows their use

1961, J. A. Philip, “Mimesis in the Sophistês”, in Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association, 92, p. 457

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Germanic*brigdilaz“strap, rein”
2. Proto-West Germanic*brigdil
3. Old Englishbrīdel
4. Middle Englishbridel
5. Englishbridle

From Middle English bridel, from Old English brīdel, from Proto-West Germanic *brigdil, from Proto-Germanic *brigdilaz (“strap, rein”), equivalent to braid + -le.