Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
adjective
- narrow and rigid in opinion; inflexible: a hidebound pedant.
- oriented toward or confined to the past; extremely conservative: a hidebound philosopher.
- (of a horse, cow, etc.) having the back and ribs bound tightly by the hide.
adjective
- restricted by petty rules, a conservative attitude, etc
- (of cattle, etc) having the skin closely attached to the flesh as a result of poor feeding
- (of trees) having a very tight bark that impairs growth
1550s, from hide (n.1) + past tense of bind (v.). Original reference is to emaciated cattle with skin sticking closely to backbones and ribs; metaphoric sense of “restricted by narrow attitudes” is first recorded c.1600.