A metal restraint locked around the wrist, used by police to secure prisoners; also to restrict someone's freedom.
Compound word from 'hand' (Old English 'hand') and 'cuff' (meaning to strike or the edge of a sleeve). Originally referred to manacles, evolved to modern police equipment.
Handcuffs were invented long before modern police forces—ancient Romans used similar devices—but the modern design came from Victorian England, when societies suddenly needed uniform ways to restrain massive urban populations.
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