late 14c. (implied in suppressing) "be burdensome;" 1520s as "put down by force or authority," from Latin suppressus, past participle of supprimere "press down, stop, hold back, check, stifle," from assimilated form of sub "below, under" (see sub-) + premere "to press, hold fast, cover, crowd, compress" (from PIE root *per- (4) "to strike"). Sense of "prevent or prohibit the circulation of" is from 1550s of publications; medical use from 1620s. Related: Suppressed; suppressing.
late 14c., "self-restraining, temperate, abstemious," especially "abstaining from or moderate in sexual intercourse," from Old French continent and directly from Latin continentem (nominative continens) "holding together, continuous," present participle of continere "to hold back, check," also "hold together, enclose," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + tenere "to hold" (from PIE root *ten- "to stretch"). In reference to bladder control, 1899. Related: Continently.
1707, "paper duly authenticated by a signature and otherwise blank, left to someone to be filled in at his discretion," French, literally "white paper," from carte (see card (n.1)) + blanche, from Old French blanc "white," a word of Germanic origin (see blank (adj.)). The figurative sense of "full discretionary power, unrestricted permission or authority in some manner" is from 1766. Compare the native blank check, used in the same figurative sense.
"stoppage, obstruction" (obsolete unless in legal contracts), late 12c., from archaic verb letten "to hinder," from Old English lettan "hinder, delay, impede," etymologically "make late," from Proto-Germanic *latjan (source also of Old Saxon lettian "to hinder," Old Norse letja "to hold back," Old High German lezzen "to stop, check," Gothic latjan "to hinder, make late"), related to *lata-, source of late (adj.), from PIE root *lē- "to let go, slacken."
Old English fetor "chain or shackle by which a person or animal is bound by the feet," figuratively "check, restraint," from Proto-Germanic *fetero (source also of Old Saxon feteros (plural), Middle Dutch veter "fetter," in modern Dutch "lace, string," Old High German fezzera, Old Norse fiöturr, Swedish fjätter "fetter"), from PIE root *ped- "foot." The generalized sense of "anything that shackles" had evolved in Old English. Related Fetters.
1831, "of or pertaining to political reaction, tending to revert from a more to a less advanced policy," on model of French réactionnaire (19c.), from réaction (see reaction). In Marxist use by 1858 as "tending toward reversing existing tendencies," opposed to revolutionary and used opprobriously in reference to opponents of communism. Non-political use, "of or pertaining to a (chemical, etc.) reaction" (1847) is rare. As a noun, "person considered reactionary," especially in politics, one who seeks to check or undo political action, by 1855.
late 14c., "marked with squares or checks," past-participle adjective from checker (v.). Checkered past (1831) is from a figurative use: "variegated with different qualities or events, having a character both good and bad."
"table covered with a checked cloth," specialized sense of checker (n.1), late 14c. (in Anglo-Latin from c. 1300); especially a table for counting money or keeping accounts (revenue reckoned with counters); later extended to "the fiscal department of the English Crown; the Exchequer" (mid-14c.; in Anglo-Latin from late 12c.).
