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bound 1 (bound) Share: Tweet intr.v. bound·ed, bound·ing, bounds 1. To leap forward or upward; jump; spring: The dog bounded over the gate. 2. To move forward by leaps or springs: The deer bounded into the woods. 3. To spring back from a surface; rebound: The basketball bounded off the backboard. n. 1. A leap; a jump: The deer was away in a single bound. 2. A springing back from a surface after hitting it; a bounce: caught the ball on the bound. [French bondir, to bounce, from Old French, to resound, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *bombitīre, from Latin bombitāre, to hum, from bombus, a humming sound, from Greek bombos.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

bound 2 (bound) Share: Tweet n. 1. often bounds A boundary; a limit: Our joy knew no bounds. Your remarks exceed the bounds of reason. 2. bounds The territory on, within, or near limiting lines: the bounds of the kingdom. v. bound·ed, bound·ing, bounds v. tr. 1. To set a limit to; confine: a high wall that bounded the prison yard; lives that were bounded by poverty. 2. To constitute the boundary or limit of: a city park that was bounded by busy streets. 3. To identify the boundaries of; demarcate. v. intr. To border on another place, state, or country. Idioms: in(or within)bounds Sports Within the boundary of a playing field or court and therefore in play or legal. out of bounds 1. Sports Outside the boundary of a playing field or court and therefore not in play or legal. 2. Outside the boundary of where one is allowed to be; in a forbidden or unauthorized place: The research lab is out of bounds for first-year students. 3. In violation of acceptable rules or standards, as of decency: felt the guest's behavior was out of bounds. [Middle English, from Old French and Anglo-Norman bodne, bonde, from Vulgar Latin *bodina (compare Medieval Latin bodina, butina), from Gaulish *bodina, frontier, boundary, from Proto-Celtic *budīnā, troop, company of warriors (such as might defend or raid at the boundaries of a territory); compare Old Irish buiden, band, troop, and Welsh byddin, troop, army; perhaps further akin to Celtic *bowdi-, booty, plunder; see BOOTY1.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

bound 3 (bound) Share: Tweet v. Past tense and past participle of bind. adj. 1. Confined by bonds; tied: bound hostages. 2. Being under legal or moral obligation: bound by my promise. 3. Equipped with a cover or binding: bound volumes. 4. Predetermined; certain: We're bound to be late. 5. Determined; resolved: Many public policy students are bound to be politicians one day. 6. Linguistics Being a form, especially a morpheme, that cannot stand as an independent word, such as a prefix or suffix. 7. Constipated.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

bound 4 (bound) Share: Tweet adj. Headed or intending to head in a specified direction: commuters bound for home; a south-bound train. [Alteration of Middle English boun, ready, from Old Norse būinn, past participle of būa, to get ready; see bheuə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

# Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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