different between barrier vs bridle

English

Etymology

From Middle English barryer, barrere, barry?er, from Old French barriere (compare French barrière), from Old French barre (“bar”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?bæ?i.?(?)/
• (US, Mary–marry–merry distinction) IPA^(key): /?bæ?i.??/
• (US, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /?b??i.??/
• Rhymes: -æ?i?(?)

Noun

barrier (plural barriers)

1. A structure that bars passage.

   The bus went through a railway barrier and was hit by a train.

   The bomber had passed through one checkpoint before blowing himself up at a second barrier.

2. An obstacle or impediment.

   Even a small fee can be a barrier for some students.
3. A boundary or limit.

   Few marathon runners break the three-hour time barrier.

1. (grammar) A node (in government and binding theory) said to intervene between other nodes A and B if it is a potential governor for B, c-commands B, and does not c-command A.
2. (physiology) A separation between two areas of the body where specialized cells allow the entry of certain substances but prevent the entry of others.
3. (historical) The lists in a tournament.
4. (historical, in the plural) A martial exercise of the 15th and 16th centuries.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:hindrance

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

barrier (third-person singular simple present barriers, present participle barriering, simple past and past participle barriered)

1. (transitive) To block or obstruct with a barrier.

   Synonym: bar

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?a?d?l/
• Homophone: bridal
• Rhymes: -a?d?l

Noun

bridle (plural bridles)

1. The headgear with which a horse is directed and which carries a bit and reins.
   • 1961, J. A. Philip, "Mimesis in the Sophistês," Proceedings and Transactions of the American Philological Association 92, p. 457:

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

2. (figuratively) A restraint; a curb; a check.
   • 1729, Isaac Watts, The Doctrine of the Passions explain'd and improv'd

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

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.
4. A mooring hawser.
5. A piece in the interior of a gunlock which holds in place the tumbler, sear, etc.
6. A gesture expressing pride or vanity.

Derived terms

• bridle path
• bridlewise
• scold's bridle

Translations

Verb

bridle (third-person singular simple present bridles, present participle bridling, simple past and past participle bridled)

1. (transitive) To put a bridle on.
   • 1835, Joseph Rodmand Drake, The Culprit Fay

     He bridled her mouth with a silkweed twist.

2. (transitive) To check, restrain, or control with, or as if with, a bridle; as in bridle your tongue.
   • 1796, Edmund Burke, Letters on a Regicide Peace

     Savoy and Nice, the keys of Italy, and the citadel in her hands to bridle Switzerland, are in that consolidation.

3. (intransitive) To show hostility or resentment.

   Immigrant-rights and religious organizations bridled at the plan to favor highly skilled workers over relatives. (Houston Chronicle, 6/8/2007)

4. (intransitive) To hold up one's head proudly or affectedly.

Synonyms

• restrain

Derived terms

• unbridle

Translations

Anagrams

• birled

Middle English

Noun

bridle

1. Alternative form of bridel