constraint

noun
/kənˈstɹeɪnt/CA/kənˈstɹæɪnt/

Etymology

From Middle English constreynt, constreynte, from Old French constreinte, past participle of constreindre (“to constrain”), from Latin cōnstringō (corresponding to the past participle cōnstrictus).

  1. derived from cōnstringō
  2. derived from constreinte
  3. inherited from constreynt

Definitions

  1. Something that constrains

    Something that constrains; a restriction.

    • An engineer must recognize the difference between a constraint (to work within) and a problem (to be eliminated via resolution).
    • Today’s electricity demand (65 EJ/a) is well covered by the range, but constraints may occur in the long run locally. Amongst large countries, Nigeria and India may need imports to meet electricity demand.
  2. An irresistible force or compulsion.

    • They confessed, but only under severe constraint.
  3. The repression of one's feelings.

  4. + 2 more definitions
    1. A condition that a solution to an optimization problem must satisfy.

    2. A linkage or other restriction that maintains database integrity.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at constraint. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01constraint02irresistible03resist04accept05receive06offered07offer08contains09contain10constraints

A definitional loop anchored at constraint. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

10 hops · closes at constraint

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA