Link. (1) (Of Scandinavian origin; cf. Swed. länk, Dan. laenke; cognate with “flank,” and Ger. Gelenk, joint), one of the loops of which a chain is composed; used as a measure of length in surveying, being 1⁄100th part of a “chain.” In Gunter’s chain, a “link” = 7.92 in.; the chain used by American engineers consists of 100 links of a foot each in length (for “link work” and “link motions” see Mechanics: § Applied, and Steam Engine). The term is also applied to anything used for connecting or binding together, metaphorically or absolutely. (2) (O. Eng. hlinc, possibly from the root which appears in “to lean”), a bank or ridge of rising ground; in Scots dialect, in the plural, applied to the ground bordering on the sea-shore, characterized by sand and coarse grass; hence a course for playing golf. (3) A torch made of pitch or tow formerly carried in the streets to light passengers, by men or boys called “link-boys” who plied for hire with them. Iron link-stands supporting a ring in which the link might be placed may still be seen at the doorways of old London houses. The word is of doubtful origin. It has been referred to a Med. Lat. lichinus, which occurs in the form linchinus (see Du Cange, Glossarium); this, according to a 15th-century glossary, meant a wick or match. It is an adaptation of Gr. λύχνος, lamp. Another suggestion connects it with a supposed derivation of “linstock,” from “lint.” The New English Dictionary thinks the likeliest suggestion is to identify the word with the “link” of a chain. The tow and pitch may have been manufactured in lengths, and then cut into sections or “links.”
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