refrain
/ɹɪˈfɹeɪn/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.63 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "Refrain thy foot from their path."
- "The presence even for a moment among a party of debauchees of a woman endued with every quality of modesty and not less severe than beautiful refrained the humorous sallies even of the most licentious but her departure was the signal for an outbreak of ribaldry."
- "And nowe I saye unto you: refrayne youreselves from these men, and let them alone [...]."
- "As I went down the river, all dissatisfaction at my lot passed away, and by the time Dartmouth came in view I could no longer refrain myself, but threw my cap into the air, and barely caught it from falling overboard as I shouted, "Hurrah for merry England![…]""
- "Refrain from these men, and let them alone."
- "They refrained therefrom [eating flesh] some time after."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English refreynen, from Anglo-Norman refrener, Old French refrener, from Latin refrēnāre, from re- + frēnāre, from frēnum.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰreg-, refreynen, refrener, refrēnāre, refrain, -