Confined, restrained, or restricted in movement or freedom; bound or shackled physically or metaphorically.
Past participle of 'fetter' (from Old English feter, foot chain). Used since medieval times both literally (for prisoners) and figuratively (for any kind of restriction).
Shakespeare and other Renaissance writers loved 'fettered' as a metaphor because it's viscerally powerful—it evokes actual chains but lets you apply it to emotional, political, or intellectual restraint.
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