noun, masculine/e.to/plural: étaux
vise, vice (instrument consisting of two jaws for holding work); noose, net
“L'étau se resserre.” — The noose is tightening.
From Middle French estau, estot (“vise”, 16th c.). Probably from Old French estoc (“trunk”), from Frankish *stokk; compare German Schraubstock. If so, a doublet of estoc. Alternatively, a doublet of étal instead, but the Middle French form in -ot makes this appear less likely, particularly as the same spelling also occurs for estoc in other senses.