Archaic past participle of bind; obligated or bound by duty, promise, or necessity.
From Old English 'bunden,' the past participle of 'bindan' (to bind), used in archaic phrases like 'bounden duty.'
Bounden is almost dead in modern English, but 'bounden duty' survives in formal contexts—it's a linguistic fossil showing how past participles were once regular adjectives.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.