curb

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to restrain or keep in check; a raised edge along a street

   The new law aims to curb excessive spending.

Simplified etymology

Curb is first recorded for a curved piece of timber. Its late Middle English sense of a strap under a horse’s jaw comes from Old French courber “to bend or bow,” from Latin curvare: the strap checked the horse by making it bend its neck, and this led to the broader sense “restraint.” American English also uses curb where British English has kerb for a stone edging; this sense originally referred to a border or frame bending around something.

From Old French courbe ('a curve, curved thing'), from Latin curvus ('bent, curved'); the verb sense 'to restrain' arose from the curb-chain controlling a horse.

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary