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Origin and history of constrictor

constrictor(n.)

"that which constricts," 1735, originally "a muscle which draws parts together," agent noun in Latin form from constrict. Meaning "a large serpent which envelops and crushes its prey in its coils" is from 1790.

also from 1735

Entries linking to constrictor

constrict(v.)

1732, "to cause to draw together by external force or influence;" 1759, "to draw together at any point by force or action," a back-formation from constriction, or else from Latin constrictus, past participle of constringere "compress" (see constrain).

A direct borrowing from Latin of the same word which, via French, became constrain. Earlier in the same sense was constringe (c. 1600). Related: Constricted; constricting.

vasoconstriction(n.)

1899, from vasoconstrictor "that which causes contraction of blood vessels" (1877), from vaso- + constrictor. Related: Vasoconstrictive.

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    boa
    The popular name boa constrictor is by 1808 in English (from 1770s in German, 1780s in French)....
    present
    c. 1300, "being in the same place as someone or something;" early 14c., "existing at the time," from Old French present "evident, at hand, within reach;" as a noun, "the present time" (11c., Modern French présent) and directly from Latin praesentem (nominative praesens) "present,
    snake
    Middle English snake, "a long, limbless reptile," from Old English snaca, from Proto-Germanic *snakon (source also of Old Norse snakr "snake," Swedish snok, German Schnake "ring snake"), from PIE root *sneg- "to crawl, creeping thing" (source also of Old Irish snaighim "to creep,
    sneak
    1550s (implied in sneakish), "creep or steal about privately; move or go in a stealthy, slinking way" (intransitive); perhaps from some dialectal survival of Middle English sniken "to creep, crawl" (c. 1200), which is from Old English snican "to sneak along, creep, crawl," from P
    luck
    c. 1500, "fortune good or bad, what happens to one by chance (conceived as being favorable or not); good luck, quality of having a tendency to receive desired or beneficial outcomes," not found in Old English, probably from early Middle Dutch luc, shortening of gheluc "happiness,
    tangle
    mid-14c., tanglen, "encumber, enmesh, knit together confusedly," a shortening of entangle in some cases, in others probably a nasalized variant of tagilen "to involve in a difficult situation, entangle," from a Scandinavian source (compare dialectal Swedish taggla "to disorder,"
    capital
    early 13c., "of or pertaining to the head," from Old French capital, from Latin capitalis "of the head," hence "capital, chief, first," from caput (genitive capitis) "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head"). The meaning "main, principal, chief, dominant, first in importance" is from
    switch
    1590s, "slender riding whip," probably from a variant of a Flemish or Low German word akin to Middle Dutch swijch "bough, twig," or from swutsche, variant of Low German zwukse "long thin stick, switch," from Germanic *swih- (source also of Old High German zwec "wooden peg," Germa
    impression
    late 14c., "mark produced by pressure," also "image produced in the mind or emotions by something external," from Old French impression "print, stamp; a pressing on the mind" (13c.), from Latin impressionem (nominative impressio) "a pressing into, onset, attack," figuratively "a
    risk
    1660s, risque, "hazard, danger, peril, exposure to mischance or harm," from French risque (16c.), from Italian risco, riscio (modern rischio), from riscare "run into danger," a word of uncertain origin. The Englished spelling is recorded by 1728. Spanish riesgo and German Risiko

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