Advertisement

Origin and history of inhibit

inhibit(v.)

early 15c., "to forbid, prohibit," back-formation from inhibition or else from Latin inhibitus, past participle of inhibere "to hold in, hold back, keep back," from in- "in, on" (from PIE root *en "in") + habere "to hold" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive"). Psychological sense (1876) is from earlier, softened meaning of "restrain, check, hinder" (1530s). Related: Inhibited; inhibiting.

also from early 15c.

Entries linking to inhibit

inhibition(n.)

late 14c., "formal prohibition; interdiction of legal proceedings by authority;" also, the document setting forth such a prohibition, from Old French inibicion and directly from Latin inhibitionem (nominative inhibitio) "a restraining," from past participle stem of inhibere "to hold in, hold back, keep back," from in- "in, on" (from PIE root *en "in") + habere "to hold" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive"). Psychological sense of "involuntary check on an expression of an impulse" is from 1876.

inhibitor(n.)

1868 as a Scottish legal term; 1914 in biochemistry; agent noun in Latin form from inhibit. Form inhibiter is attested from 1610s.

Advertisement

More to explore

suppress
late 14c. (implied in verbal noun suppressing) "be burdensome," also "quell, cause to cease;" from Latin suppressus, past participle of supprimere "press down, stop, hold back, check, stifle," from assimilated form of sub "below, under" (see sub-) + premere "to press, hold fast,
repress
late 14c., "to check, restrain (sin, error); to overcome, put down, subdue (riot, rebellion);" from Latin repressus, past participle of reprimere "hold back, curb," figuratively "check, confine, restrain, refrain," from re- "back" (see re-) + premere "to press, hold fast, cover,
restrain
mid-14c., restreinen, "to stop, prevent, curb" (a vice, purpose, appetite, desire), from stem of Old French restraindre, restreindre "to press, push together; curb, bridle; bandage" (12c.), from Latin restringere "draw back tightly, tie back; confine, check" (see restriction). Fr
bound
"to leap, spring upward, jump," 1590s, from French bondir "to rebound, resound, echo," from Old French bondir "to leap, jump, rebound;" originally "make a noise, sound (a horn), beat (a drum)," 13c., ultimately "to echo back," from Vulgar Latin *bombitire "to buzz, hum" (see bomb
wink
Old English wincian "to blink, wink, close one's eyes quickly," from Proto-Germanic *wink- (source also of Dutch winken, Old High German winkan "move sideways, stagger; nod," German winken "to wave, wink"), a gradational variant of the root of Old High German wankon "to stagger,
contain
c. 1300, "restrain (someone), control (oneself), behave (in a certain way)," from Old French contein-, tonic stem of contenir, from Latin continere (transitive) "to hold together, enclose," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + tenere "to hold" (from PIE root
limit
c. 1400, "boundary, frontier," from Old French limite "a boundary," from Latin limitem (nominative limes) "a boundary, limit, border, embankment between fields," which is probably related to limen "threshold," and possibly from the base of limus "transverse, oblique," which is of
hush
1540s (trans.), 1560s (intrans.), variant of Middle English huisht (late 14c.), probably of imitative origin, with terminal -t lost probably by being mistaken for a past tense suffix. The sounds chosen presumably for "being sibilations requiring the least muscular effort and admi
hold
Middle English holden, earlier halden, from Old English haldan (Anglian), healdan (West Saxon), "to contain; to grasp; to retain (liquid, etc.); to observe, fulfill (a custom, etc.); to have as one's own; to have in mind (of opinions, etc.); to possess, control, rule; to detain,
curb
late 15c., "strap passing under the jaw of a horse" (attached to the bit of the bridle and used to restrain the animal), from Old French courbe "curb on a horse" (12c.), from Latin curvus, from curvare "to bend," from PIE root *sker- (2) "to turn, bend." The same word was used la

Share inhibit

Advertisement
Trending
Dictionary entries near inhibit
Advertisement