Definition of: fetter

(fet′ər) noun
A shackle for the ankles or a rope that binds, etc.; hence, anything that confines.
—v.t.
1. To fasten fetters upon; shackle.
2. To prevent the activity of; restrain. [OE feter, fetor. Related to FOOT.] Synonyms (noun): bondage, bonds, chains, custody, durance, duress, gyves, handcuffs, imprisonment, irons, manacles, shackles. Bonds may be of cord, leather, or any other substance that can bind; chains are of linked metal. Manacles and handcuffs are for the hands, fetters are primarily chains or jointed iron fastenings for the ankles; gyves may be for either. A shackle is a metallic ring, clasp, or braceletlike fastening for encircling and restraining a limb: commonly one of a pair, used either for hands or feet. Bonds, fetters, and chains are used in a general way for almost any form of restraint. Gyves is now wholly poetic, and the other words are mostly restricted to the literary style; handcuffs is the specific and irons the general term in popular usage; as, The prisoner was put in irons. Bonds, chains, and shackles are frequently used in the metaphorical sense of restraint.