To bind is to tie or fasten things tightly together so they cannot move freely. It can also mean to unite people or ideas, or to make someone legally or morally responsible for something.
From Old English “bindan,” meaning “to tie” or “to fasten,” from a Proto-Germanic root with the same meaning. The basic sense of tying together has stayed stable for centuries.
“Bind” works in both physical and invisible worlds: you can bind a book, but you can also be bound by a promise. Language uses the same verb because our minds picture agreements as invisible ropes between people.
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