/rɪˈfreɪn/
[noun/verb] As a noun, a refrain is a line or group of lines that is repeated in a song or poem, usually at the end of each verse. As a verb, to refrain means to stop yourself from doing something, even when you want to do it.
The song chorus and the act of holding back share the same word because both ideas come from the image of a bird being controlled by reins.
The word 'refrain' carries two distinct meanings that seem, at first glance, to have nothing to do with each other — the repeated chorus of a song and the act of holding oneself back from doing something. Yet both meanings spring from the same ancient root, and once you see the connection, you cannot unsee it.
The verb meaning 'to hold back' came into English in the 14th century from Old French refrener, which itself descended from Latin refrenare, meaning 'to bridle' or 'to restrain with reins.' Latin refrenare was built from the prefix re- (meaning 'back') and frenum, the Latin word for a horse's bridle or bit — the piece of metal placed in a horse's mouth to control its movement. So when you refrain from eating that second slice of cake, you are, etymologically speaking, pulling on the reins of your own desires, holding yourself back like a rider checking a horse.
The noun meaning 'the repeated part of a song' followed a slightly different path. It entered English also in the 14th century from Old French refrain, which came from the verb refraindre, meaning 'to repeat' or 'to break back.' This Old French verb was borrowed from Vulgar Latin refrangere, a variation of Latin refringere, meaning 'to break off' or 'to break back.' The core Latin root here is frangere, 'to break,' which also gave English words like fracture, fragment, and fragile. So a refrain is literally a 'break' — a moment where the melody and words snap back to a familiar pattern.
Interestingly, the two branches of 'refrain' were not always understood as separate words. In Old French, the verb refrener (to bridle) and the noun refrain (repeated verse) existed side by side, and medieval speakers likely felt the tug of meaning between them — both carrying a sense of something being brought back, held in check, or returning to its starting point. The repeated chorus of a song does, after all, act like a kind of bridle on the wandering melody, pulling it back to a known place each time.
The musical meaning of refrain spread widely through European culture during the medieval period, as troubadours and minstrels carried their songs across France and into England, Spain, and Italy. The repeated verse became a central feature of the ballad and the chanson, giving audiences something familiar and sing-along-able to hold onto. Over centuries, the word settled comfortably into English in both its senses, and today 'refrain' remains one of those quietly remarkable words that contain a whole world of history — horses, bridles, broken melodies, and the very human effort of self-control — all packed into two small syllables.