*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of -bound

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Germanic *būaną Old Norse búinnbor. Middle English bownde English bound English -bound From bound (“obliged to, certain to”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
suffix

Moving or travelling towards. · Confined or restricted to a certain place; unable to move in certain conditions; -ridden

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Germanic *būaną Old Norse búinnbor. Middle English bownde English bound English -bound From bound (“obliged to, certain to”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "bound<t:obliged to, certain to>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰuH-\nProto-Germanic *būaną\nOld Norse búinnbor.\nMiddle English bownde\nEnglish bound\nEnglish -bound\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"búinn\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"be\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*bʰuH-\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*būaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old Norse\", \"term\" : \"búa\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"non\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"boun\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"bound\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-bound\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"-bound\">\nFrom bound (“obliged to, certain to”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":from",
        "3": "bound<t:obliged to, certain to>",
        "tree": "1",
        "text": "+"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *bʰuH-\nProto-Germanic *būaną\nOld Norse búinnbor.\nMiddle English bownde\nEnglish bound\nEnglish -bound\nFrom bound (“obliged to, certain to”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*bʰuH-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰuH-#Proto-Indo-European:_be"
    ],
    [
      "*būaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/būaną"
    ],
    [
      "búinn",
      "búa#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "bownde",
      "boun#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bound",
      "bound#English"
    ],
    [
      "bound",
      "bound#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "suffix",
      "glosses": [
        "Moving or travelling towards.",
        "Confined or restricted to a certain place; unable to move in certain conditions; -ridden"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "8c718f205e361ffcd7157285bf8d0548c269b03c9574ed49da6032999c8cf541",
      "rawRecordSha256": "0f9cb566e777441c41f4d317e1e452b74685d7c9a8d4676c16dfa52fc231dc61",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4107009
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for -bound →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-LWJvdW5k