trammel

TRAM'MEL, noun 1. A kind of long net for catching birds or fishes. The trammel differs not much from the shape of the bunt. 2. A kind of shackles used for regulating the motions of a horse, and making him amble. 3. An iron hook, of various forms and sizes, used for hanging kettles and other vessels over the fire. 4. Trammels, in mechanics, a joiner's instrument for drawing ovals upon boards. One part consists of a cross with two grooves at right angles; the other is a beam carrying two pins which slide in those grooves, and also the describing pencil. TRAM'MEL, verb transitive 1. To catch; to intercept. 2. To confine; to hamper; to shackle.