Hidebound
/ˈhaɪdˌbaʊnd/noun
Stubbornly conservative or unwilling to change.
Did you know?The word began as a literal description of an animal whose skin was so tight over its bones that it couldn’t expand properly, then became a metaphor for a mind too cramped to evolve.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
hȳd
“skin, hide”
Old English
OE
bindan
“to bind, tie up”
Middle English
ME
hidebounde
“having the skin tightly drawn; cramped or constrained”
16th Century
English
hidebound
“originally of cattle or horses with the skin tight and unable to expand; later figuratively narrow or rigid in outlook”
Modern English
English
hidebound
“stubbornly resistant to change or innovation”