Inhibit
/ɪnˈhɪbɪt/noun
To restrain, prevent, or hold something back.
Did you know?Inhibit comes from Latin in- (“in, on”) + habere (“to hold”), so its oldest sense is basically “to hold in place,” a very physical image of restraint.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gʰabʰ-
“to seize, hold”
Latin
Latin
habēre
“to have, hold”
Late Latin
Latin
inhibēre
“to hold in, restrain, check”
Middle English
English
inhibiten
“to restrain or prevent”
Modern English
English
inhibit
“to restrain, prevent, or hold back”