Past tense of pound; struck repeatedly with force, crushed by heavy blows, or moved with heavy steps.
From Old English pyndan meaning 'to shut up' or 'confine', related to 'pound' (enclosure). The sense of 'strike heavily' developed from the action of using a heavy tool to break things, possibly influenced by the sound 'pound' makes.
The word 'pound' has a fascinating double life - it can mean both to strike forcefully and a unit of weight, but they come from completely different roots. The striking sense comes from the sound and action, while the weight 'pound' comes from Latin pondus meaning 'weight'.
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