Made something more snug, firm, or compressed by pulling or squeezing it closer together.
From Old English 'tīht' meaning to pull or stretch, combined with the suffix '-en' to make a verb. The root connects to the idea of physical tension or pulling force.
The word 'tight' originally meant something you could pull on—the Old English root is the same one behind 'tight rope'—so tightening is literally returning something to that pulled, stretched state.
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