Word origin · etymology
Bound in the sense of a limit comes through Middle English and early French bodne, from Latin bodina. The alternative technical word term is associated with Latin terminus, boundary.
These are distinct word histories for two labels used in astrology. Their shared boundary sense does not establish the date or route by which a particular dignity table acquired either technical name.
Merriam-Webster: bound, boundary sense ↗Lewis and Short, A Latin Dictionary: terminus ↗
How we know · epistemology
Historical table-based classification
A bound ruler is a result of placing an unrounded zodiacal degree in a named table's interval. Historical tables differ, so the interval convention and source must accompany the result; the label is not a measured property of a planet or evidence for a personal outcome.
William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647), original printed p104 ↗William Lilly: Christian Astrology (1647), original text, pp. 101–112 ↗
Connected concepts
Read alongside this entry
Terms used in this explanation
These links connect subjects and terminology. They do not establish a shared historical origin.
Sources & provenance
Use the citations beside each section to distinguish a calculation convention, a historical teaching and an editorial example.