To squeeze someone's neck tightly so they cannot breathe; to choke or suppress something completely.
From Old French 'estrangler,' from Latin 'strangulare.' The word has meant 'to choke' for over a thousand years in European languages.
Paradoxically, the word 'strangle' comes from the same Latin root as 'stringent' and 'string'—all about tightness and binding—showing how violent and peaceful meanings can share the same linguistic DNA!
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