different between obstacle vs bridle

English

Etymology

From Middle English obstacle, from Old French obstacle, from Latin obst?culum.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??bst?kl?/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /??bst?kl?/
• Hyphenation: ob?sta?cle

Noun

obstacle (plural obstacles)

1. Something that impedes, stands in the way of, or holds up progress

   A big obstacle to understanding the manual was that it had been poorly translated from the Japanese.

Synonyms

• impediment
• hindrance
• hurdle
• barrier
• complication
• snag
• See also Thesaurus:hindrance

Translations

Anagrams

• Casebolt, costable

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin obst?culum.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /ops?ta.kl?/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /ups?ta.kl?/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ops?ta.kle/

Noun

obstacle m (plural obstacles)

1. obstacle

Derived terms

• obstaculitzar

Further reading

• “obstacle” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin obstaculum, from obst?

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?p.stakl/

Noun

obstacle m (plural obstacles)

1. obstacle

Derived terms

• course d'obstacles
• faire obstacle
• saut d'obstacles

Further reading

• “obstacle” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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