harness

[hahr-nis]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR harness ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the combination of straps, bands, and other parts forming the working gear of a draft animal.Compare yoke¹(def 1).

(on a loom) the frame containing heddles through which the warp is drawn and which, in combination with another such frame or other frames, forms the shed and determines the woven pattern.

the equipment, as straps, bolts, or gears, by which a large bell is mounted and rung.

Electricity. wiring harness.

armor for persons or horses.

verb (used with object)

to put a harness on (a horse, donkey, dog, etc.); attach by a harness, as to a vehicle.

to bring under conditions for effective use; gain control over for a particular end: to harness water power; to harness the energy of the sun.

Archaic. to array in armor or equipments of war.

Idioms

in double harness. double harness(def 2).

in harness,

engaged in one's usual routine of work: After his illness he longed to get back in harness.
together as cooperating partners or equals: Joe and I worked in harness on our last job.

Origin of harness

1250–1300; Middle English harneis, herneis < Old French herneis baggage, equipment < Old Norse *hernest provisions for an armed force, equivalent to herr army (cf. harbor, herald) + nest provisions for a journey

Related formshar·ness·er, nounhar·ness·less, adjectivehar·ness·like, adjectivere·har·ness, verb (used with object)well-har·nessed, adjective

Synonyms for harness

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR harness ON THESAURUS.COM

7. control, manage, utilize, exploit.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for harnessing

utilize, tame, exploit, curb, tackle, mobilize, fetter, secure, accouter, strap, apply, rig, check, muzzle, hold, fit, leash, tie, channel, equip

Examples from the Web for harnessing

Contemporary Examples of harnessing

Winter Resort operators are harnessing an unlikely source to power their operations: the sun.
Solar Powered Ski Lift
The Daily Beast
November 24, 2014
The system could operate on a closed loop, recycling its water and harnessing the power of the sun.
Why Architects Dream Big—and Crazy
Nate Berg
August 23, 2014
In effect, then, the resort is harnessing the power of the sun to turn seawater into a nourishing resource—for people and plants.
Sun+Water= High Tech Caribbean Luxury At The Cusinart Resort
The Daily Beast
June 11, 2014
With evangelical zeal, he invites the applauding audience to join him in harnessing “the power of paper and glue.”
‘Inside Out: The People’s Art Project’ Review: Narcissists Writ Large
Jessica Dawson
May 20, 2013
It is an engagement technique aimed at harnessing passive discontent into PR stunts that raise awareness.
Oh to be a Butterfly...
June 22, 2012

Historical Examples of harnessing

He chuckled all through the harnessing of Daniel, the venerable white horse.
Cap'n Eri
Joseph Crosby Lincoln
But I was not aware that you had engaged in roping or harnessing the animal.
Glyn Severn's Schooldays
George Manville Fenn
The harnessing of an Italian diligence is a mystery to all but an Italian postilion.
Pilgrimage from the Alps to the Tiber
James Aitken Wylie
Beechnut did not answer to this proposal, but went on harnessing the horse.
Stuyvesant
Jacob Abbott
Carriers' men were harnessing the freshly groomed bays to the pole.
Complete Short Works
Georg Ebers

British Dictionary definitions for harnessing

harness

noun

an arrangement of leather straps buckled or looped together, fitted to a draught animal in order that the animal can be attached to and pull a cart

something resembling this, esp for attaching something to the bodya parachute harness

mountaineering an arrangement of webbing straps that enables a climber to attach himself to the rope so that the impact of a fall is minimized

the total system of electrical leads for a vehicle or aircraft

weaving the part of a loom that raises and lowers the warp threads, creating the shed

archaic armour collectively

in harness at one's routine work

verb (tr)

to put harness on (a horse)

(usually foll by to) to attach (a draught animal) by means of harness to (a cart, etc)

to control so as to employ the energy or potential power ofto harness the atom

to equip or clothe with armour

Derived Formsharnesser, nounharnessless, adjectiveharness-like, adjective

Word Origin for harness

C13: from Old French harneis baggage, probably from Old Norse hernest (unattested) provisions, from herr army + nest provisions

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for harnessing

harness

"to put a harness on a draught animal," c.1300, from Old French harneschier, from harnois (see harness (n.)); figurative sense is from 1690s. Related: Harnessed; harnessing.

harness

c.1300, "personal fighting equipment, body armor," also "armor or trappings of a war-horse," from Old French harnois "arms, equipment; harness; male genitalia; tackle; household equipment," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Norse *hernest "provisions for an army," from herr "army" (see harry) + nest "provisions" (see nostalgia). Non-military sense of "fittings for a beast of burden" is from early 14c. German Harnisch "harness, armor" is the French word, borrowed into Middle High German. The Celtic words also are believed to be from French, as are Spanish arnes, Portuguese arnez, Italian arnese. Prive harness (late 14c.) was a Middle English term for "sex organs."

Idioms and Phrases with harnessing

harness

see die with one's boots on (in harness) in harness.