n. - A shackle; especially, one to confine the legs; a fetter.
v. t. - To fetter; to shackle; to chain.
H () the eighth letter of the English alphabet, is classed among the
consonants, and is formed with the mouth organs in the same position as
that of the succeeding vowel. It is used with certain consonants to
form digraphs representing sounds which are not found in the alphabet,
as sh, th, /, as in shall, thing, /ine (for zh see /274); also, to
modify the sounds of some other letters, as when placed after c and p,
with the former of which it represents a compound sound like that of
tsh, as in charm (written also tch as in catch), with the latter, the
sound of f, as in phase, phantom. In some words, mostly derived or
introduced from foreign languages, h following c and g indicates that
those consonants have the hard sound before e, i, and y, as in
chemistry, chiromancy, chyle, Ghent, Ghibelline, etc.; in some others,
ch has the sound of sh, as in chicane. See Guide to Pronunciation, //
153, 179, 181-3, 237-8.