bound

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Travelling or heading toward a particular place.

   The train was bound for the coast.

2. 2
   verb

   Past tense and past participle of bind; tied or fastened.

   The prisoner's hands were bound behind his back.

3. 3
   verb

   To move forward quickly with great leaps.

   The dog bounded across the field to greet us.

4. 4
   noun

   A limit on how far something can go.

   Her excitement knew no bounds when she won the prize.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Bound has several unrelated histories. The verb meaning “leap” comes from French bondir, first “resound” and later “rebound,” ultimately from Latin bombus “humming”; the noun meaning “boundary” is also French, but its deeper origin is unknown. Bound meaning “heading toward” comes from Old Norse boun “ready, dressed,” from búa “prepare,” while bound meaning “obliged” is simply an old past form of bind.

From Middle English *bounden (attested as bounten), from French bondir (“leap", "bound", originally "make a loud resounding noise”); perhaps from Late Latin bombitāre (“hum, buzz”), frequentative verb, from Latin bombus (“a humming or buzzing”).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary