link

n. [ Prob. corrupted from lint and this for lunt a torch, match, D. lont match; akin to G. lunte, cf. MHG. lünden to burn. Cf. Lunt, Linstock. ] A torch made of tow and pitch, or the like. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. linke, AS. hlence; akin to Sw. länk ring of a chain, Dan. lænke chain, Icel. hlekkr; cf. G. gelenk joint, link, ring of a chain, lenken to bend. ] 1. A single ring or division of a chain. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: Anything, whether material or not, which binds together, or connects, separate things; a part of a connected series; a tie; a bond. “Links of iron.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The link of brotherhood, by which
One common Maker bound me to the kind. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

And so by double links enchained themselves in lover's life. Gascoigne. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything doubled and closed like a link; as, a link of horsehair. Mortimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Kinematics) Any one of the several elementary pieces of a mechanism, as the fixed frame, or a rod, wheel, mass of confined liquid, etc., by which relative motion of other parts is produced and constrained. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Mach.) Any intermediate rod or piece for transmitting force or motion, especially a short connecting rod with a bearing at each end; specifically (Steam Engine), the slotted bar, or connecting piece, to the opposite ends of which the eccentric rods are jointed, and by means of which the movement of the valve is varied, in a link motion. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Surveying) The length of one joint of Gunter's chain, being the hundredth part of it, or 7.92 inches, the chain being 66 feet in length. Cf. Chain, n., 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Chem.) A bond of affinity, or a unit of valence between atoms; -- applied to a unit of chemical force or attraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. pl. Sausages; -- because linked together. [ Colloq. ]

v. i. To be connected. [ 1913 Webster ]

No one generation could link with the other. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Linch. ] 1. A hill or ridge, as a sand hill, or a wooded or turfy bank between cultivated fields, etc. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng. ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A winding of a river; also, the ground along such a winding; a meander; -- usually in pl. [ Scot. ]

The windings or “links” of the Forth above and below Stirling are extremely tortuous. Encyc. Brit. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

3. pl. Sand hills with the surrounding level or undulating land, such as occur along the seashore, a river bank, etc. [ Scot. ]

Golf may be played on any park or common, but its original home is the “links” or common land which is found by the seashore, where the short close tuft, the sandy subsoil, and the many natural obstacles in the shape of bents, whins, sand holes, and banks, supply the conditions which are essential to the proper pursuit of the game. Encyc. of Sport. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

4. pl. Hence, any such piece of ground where golf is played; a golf course. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. The act of linking; the state of being linked; also, a system of links. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Chem.) Manner of linking or of being linked; -- said of the union of atoms or radicals in the molecule. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Geom.) A system of straight lines or bars, fastened together by joints, and having certain of their points fixed in a plane. It is used to describe straight lines and curves in the plane. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Any object, factor, or relationship that creates a bond or association between two other objects. [ PJC ]

5. Specifically: (Genetics) The proximity of two or more genes on the genome of an organism that causes those genes to be inherited, transferred, or moved together with a frequency greater than for genes not associated. The linkage is a continuous variable, and is inversely related to the distance between genes on the genome. [ PJC ]

a. 1. 1. Associated. [ PJC ]

2. (Genetics) Exhibiting linkage{ 5 }. [ PJC ]

3. Having a connection. [ PJC ]

{ } n. [ See 1st Link. ] A boy or man that carried a link or torch to light passengers. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. (Steam Engine) A valve gear, consisting of two eccentrics with their rods, giving motion to a slide valve by an adjustable connecting bar, called the link, in such a way that the motion of the engine can be reversed, or the cut-off varied, at will; -- used very generally in locomotives and marine engines. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The illustration shows a link motion for a vertical engine, c representing the shaft carrying two eccentrics, a and b, for making the engine run forward and backward, respectively, their rods e and d being jointed to opposite ends of the slotted link f, in the opening of which is a pin g which is attached to the valve rod h. The valve will receive the motion of the forward eccentric when the link is in the position shown, and the motion of the backward eccentric when the link is shifted so far to the right as to bring e in line with h, or a compound motion derived from both eccentrics when the link is shifted to intermediate positions, the compound motion causing the valve to cut off the steam at a point determined by the position to which the link may have been shifted. [ 1913 Webster ]