Gyve, n. — Webster enters it under “gyve”
Etymology: [Of Celtic origin; cf. W. gefyn, Ir. geibbionn, Gael. geimheal.]
A shackle; especially, one to confine the legs; a fetter. [Written also give.] Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves. Shak. With gyves upon his wrist. Hood.
1 other Webster entry under this spelling
Gyve, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Gyved (p. pr. & vb. n. Gyving.]
To fetter; to shackle; to chain. Spenser. I will gyve thee in thine own courtship. Shak.
H
the eighth letter of the English alphabet, is classed among the consonants, and is formed with the mouth organs in the same position as that of the succeeding vowel. It is used with certain consonants to form digraphs representing sounds which are not found in the alphabet, as sh, th, th, as in shall, thing, thine (for zh see §274); also, to modify the sounds of some other letters, as when placed after c and p, with the former of which it represents a compound sound like that of tsh, as in charm (written also tch as in catch), with the latter, the sound of f, as in phase, phantom. In some words, mostly derived or introduced from foreign languages, h following c and g indicates that those consonants have the hard sound before e, i, and y, as in chemistry, chiromancy, chyle, Ghent, Ghibelline, etc.; in some others, ch has the sound of sh, as in chicane. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 153, 179, 181-3, 237-8.
Note: The name (aitch) is from the French ache; its form is from the Latin, and this from the Greek H, which was used as the sign of the spiritus asper (rough breathing) before it came to represent the long vowel, Gr. ê. The Greek H is from Phoenician, the ultimate origin probably being Egyptian. Etymologically H is most closely related to c; as in E. horn, L. cornu, Gr. ke`ras; E. hele, v. t., conceal; E. hide, L. cutis, Gr. ky`tos; E. hundred, L. centum, Gr. 'e-kat-on, Skr. csata. H piece (Mining), the part of a plunger pump which contains the valve.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for gyves; he lists it under fetter.
Where he writes about it:
Manacles and handcuffs are for the hands, fetters are primarily chains or jointed iron fastenings for the feet; gyves may be for either. — from fetter
Gyves is now wholly poetic, and the other words are mostly restricted to the literary style; handcuffs is the specific and irons the general term in popular usage; as, the prisoner was put in irons. — from fetter