refrain

See also: Refrain

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɹɪˈfɹeɪn/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪn

Etymology 1

From Middle English refreynen, from Anglo-Norman refraindre, Middle French refreindre (from Latin refringere), and Anglo-Norman refrener, Middle French refrener (from Latin refrenare).

Verb

refrain (third-person singular simple present refrains, present participle refraining, simple past and past participle refrained)

1. (transitive, archaic) To hold back, to restrain (someone or something). [from 14th c.]
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Proverbs 1:15:

     Refrain thy foot from their path.

   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[Episode 1: Telemachus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC, part I [Telemachia], page 14:

     The presence even for a moment among a party of debauchees of a woman endued with every quality of modesty and not less severe than beautiful refrained the humorous sallies even of the most licentious but her departure was the signal for an outbreak of ribaldry.

2. (reflexive, archaic) To show restraint; to hold oneself back. [from 14th c.]
   • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Acts:

     And nowe I saye unto you: refrayne youreselves from these men, and let them alone [...].

   • 1899, Sabine Baring-Gould, A Book of the West, Volume 1 Chapter 18:

     As I went down the river, all dissatisfaction at my lot passed away, and by the time Dartmouth came in view I could no longer refrain myself, but threw my cap into the air, and barely caught it from falling overboard as I shouted, "Hurrah for merry England! […] "

3. (transitive, now rare) To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb. [from 14th c.]
4. (intransitive, with preposition "from") To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain; to eschew [from 15th c.]
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 5:38:

     Refrain from these men, and let them alone.

   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     They refrained therefrom [eating flesh] some time after.

   • July 5, 1731, Jonathan Swift, letter to Vanessa

     If you knew how I struggle for a little health, what uneasiness I am at in riding and walking, and refraining from every thing agreeable to my taste

   • 1895 May 7, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Time Traveler Returns”, in The Time Machine: An Invention, New York, N.Y.: Henry Holt and Company, →OCLC, page 36:

     I will [...] tell you the story of what has happened to me, if you like, but you must refrain from interruptions.

5. (transitive, rare, regional) To abstain from (food or drink). [from 16th c.]
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink.

Translations

(transitive, archaic) to hold back, to restrain — see hold back,‎ restrain,‎ curb

(reflexive, archaic) to show restraint; to hold oneself back — see hold back,‎ contain oneself

to abstain (from) — see also abstain

• Arabic: اِمْتَنَعَ (+ عَنْ) (imtanaʕa (+ ʕan))
• Azerbaijani: saqınmaq (archaic)
• Bulgarian: въздържам се (vǎzdǎržam se)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 避免 (zh) (bìmiǎn), 戒除 (zh) (jièchú)

• Czech: zdržet se (cs) pf, vyvarovat se pf, upustit (+ od) pf, vyhnout se pf
• Danish: afholde sig (da), afstå (da)
• Dutch: zich onthouden (nl)
• Finnish: pidättyä (fi) (with elative)
• French: s’abstenir (fr)
• German: sich enthalten (de), verzichten (+ auf), absehen (+ von), unterlassen (de), sich zurückhalten (de), Abstand nehmen (+ von)
• Italian: astenersi (it)
• Japanese: 慎む (ja) (つつしむ, tsutsushimu), 差し控える (ja) (さしひかえる, sashihikaeru)
• Latin: parcō
• Maori: wainamu (from food and drink)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: avholde seg, avstå

• Polish: powstrzymywać się (pl) impf, powstrzymać się (pl) pf
• Portuguese: abster-se (de)
• Russian: воздержа́ться (ru) (vozderžátʹsja) (от (ot) + genitive case), (imperfective) возде́рживаться (ru) (vozdérživatʹsja) (от (ot) + genitive case)
• Slovene: vzdržati se
• Spanish: abstenerse (es), prescindir (es), inhibirse (es)
• Swedish: avhålla sig (sv), avstå (sv), låta bli (sv)
• Ukrainian: утри́муватися impf (utrýmuvatysja), утри́матися pf (utrýmatysja)

to keep oneself from action

• Arabic: اِمْتَنَعَ (+ عَنْ) (imtanaʕa (+ ʕan))
• Bulgarian: въздържам се (vǎzdǎržam se)
• Czech: zdržet se (cs) pf, vyvarovat se pf, upustit (+ od) pf, vyhnout se pf
• Dutch: zich niet inlaten met
• Finnish: pidättäytyä (fi)
• French: se retenir (fr), s’abstenir (fr)
• German: sich enthalten (de), verzichten (+ auf), absehen (+ von), unterlassen (de), sich zurückhalten (de), Abstand nehmen (+ von)
• Italian: contenersi (it), frenarsi (it)
• Maori: whakakāti, whakakeke
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: avholde seg

• Persian: خودداری کردن (fa) (xoddâri kardan)
• Polish: powstrzymywać się impf, powstrzymać się pf
• Portuguese: abster-se
• Slovene: vzdržati se
• Spanish: abstenerse, retenerse, contenerse (es), comedirse (es)
• ǃXóõ: ǀa̰ã

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} (zich) inhouden; ^{(please verify)} terughouden (nl); ^{(please verify)} (zich) onthouden (van); ^{(please verify)} (zich) verzetten (tegen)
• French: ^{(please verify)} se réfréner, ^{(please verify)} se retenir

Etymology 2

From French refrain, from the Old French verb refraindre (“to break off, repeat”), from Latin re- (“back, again”) + frangō (“break”); compare Occitan refranhs (“a refrain”), refranher (“to repeat”). See refract and the verb refrain.

Noun

refrain (plural refrains)

1. The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.
   • 1949, George Orwell, chapter 1, in Nineteen Eighty-Four:

     For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up. It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise.

2. (by extension) A much repeated comment, complaint, or saying.

   Synonym: old saw

Translations

burden of song

• Albanian: refren (sq) m
• Arabic: لَازِمَة f (lāzima), قَرَار (ar) m (qarār)
• Armenian: կրկներգ (hy) (krknerg)
• Azerbaijani: nəqərat
• Belarusian: прыпе́ў m (prypjéŭ), рэфрэ́н m (refrén)
• Bulgarian: при́пев (bg) m (prípev), рефре́н (bg) m (refrén)
• Catalan: tornada (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 副歌 (zh) (fùgē)

• Czech: refrén (cs) m
• Danish: refræn n, omkvæd (da) n
• Dutch: refrein (nl) n
• Erzya: мороютко (morojutko)
• Esperanto: refreno
• Estonian: refrään
• Finnish: kertosäe (fi)
• French: refrain (fr) m
• Galician: trebello m, lelia f, fao m, retrouso (gl) m
• Georgian: რეფრენი (repreni), მისამღერი (misamɣeri)
• German: Refrain (de) m, Kehrreim (de) m
• Greek: επωδός (el) f (epodós)
• Hebrew: פִּזְמוֹן (he) m (pizmón), רֶפְרֵן m (refrén)
• Hungarian: refrén (hu)
• Ido: refreno (io)
• Irish: loinneog f
• Italian: ritornello (it) m
• Japanese: リフレーン (ja) (rifurēn), 繰り返し句 (くりかえしく, kurikaeshiku)
• Kazakh: қайырма (qaiyrma)
• Khmer: ឆា៎ (km) (cha), សាដាន (km) (saadaan)
• Korean: 후렴(後斂) (ko) (huryeom), 리프레인 (ripeurein)
• Kyrgyz: кайырма (ky) (kayırma)
• Lao: ອະນຸບົດ (ʼa nu bot), ສອຽ (sǭi)
• Latvian: refrēns m
• Lithuanian: priedainis m, refrenas m
• Macedonian: рефре́н m (refrén)
• Malay: korus
• Maori: korihi
• Norman: èrfrain m (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: refreng (no) n, omkved n

  Nynorsk: refreng n, omkvede n

• Polish: refren (pl) m
• Portuguese: refrão (pt) m
• Romanian: refren (ro) n
• Russian: припе́в (ru) m (pripév), рефре́н (ru) m (refrén)
• Scottish Gaelic: sèist m or f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: рѐфре̄н m, при́пев m, при́пјев m

  Roman: rèfrēn (sh) m, prípev m, prípjev (sh) m

• Slovak: refrén m
• Slovene: refren m
• Spanish: estribillo (es) m
• Swedish: refräng (sv) c, omkväde (sv) n
• Tagalog: pabini, pabinian
• Tajik: нақарот (naqarot)
• Tatar: кушымта (tt) (quşımta)
• Thai: สร้อย (th) (sɔ̂i)
• Turkish: nakarat (tr)
• Ukrainian: при́спів (uk) m (prýspiv), рефре́н m (refrén)
• Uzbek: naqarot (uz)
• Vietnamese: điệp khúc (vi)
• Walloon: resploe (wa) m, rifrin (wa) m

References

• “refrain”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Ren fair, ferrian

French

Etymology

Alteration of Old French refrait, past participle of the verb refraindre (based on the verb's infinitive), itself from Vulgar Latin *refrangere, from Latin refringere.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʁə.fʁɛ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

refrain m (plural refrains)

1. refrain, chorus

Derived terms

• changer de refrain

Descendants

• → Danish: refræn
• → English: refrain
• → German: Refrain
• → Greek: ρεφρέν (refrén)
• → Spanish: refrán

Further reading

• “refrain”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• fariner

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from French refrain.

Noun

refrain m (invariable)

1. refrain

   Synonym: ritornello

Further reading

• refrain in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Anagrams

• rifarne