adstringere

Adstringere is a Latin verb meaning to bind toward, to draw tight, or to tighten, with the broader sense of constricting or confining. Etymology traces the preposition ad- “toward” combined with stringere “to draw tight, bind.” The term can denote physical contraction, as well as figurative restraint of action or speech, and appears in medical, legal, and literary Latin.

The verb belongs to the third conjugation. Its principal parts are adstringo, adstringere, adstrinxi, adstringtum. It is used transitively, with objects that are bound or tightened, and its forms include the present active adstringo, the infinitive adstringere, the perfect active adstrinxi, and the supine/adstringtum. The present participle is adstringens, and the passive form is adstringi.

In classical usage, adstringere often refers to the act of constricting tissues or wounds, or of confining something within bounds. In medical Latin, substances that cause contraction of tissues are described as adstringentia, i.e., adstringent compounds or astringents. Figuratively, the verb and its participles can express restraining passions or actions, as in phrases describing the mind or will being adstringent.

Derivatives and cognates include the English adjective and noun astringent, as well as the noun astringency, both formed from the present participle adstringens. The Latin term also informs other Romance languages’ medical and scholarly vocabulary, reflecting its sustained use in descriptions of contraction and binding.

See also: astringent, contraction (medicine), Latin grammar.