link

B1 Topic:People & Society

Also spelled a-linkin

US /lɪŋk/ UK /lɪŋk/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like rink /l/ vs /r/

Freq #3144

Meanings

1

noun
A connection between people, things, or ideas.

There is a clear link between smoking and disease.
2

noun
A clickable address that takes you to another web page.

Click the link to read the full article.
3

noun
One ring or piece of a chain.

A single link in the chain had broken.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a connection between... connection

More attach band bond join nexus tie vinculum

Opposites

break gap

Word family

Forms linkedlinkinglinks

Derived forms airlinkbloodlinkcannot-linkcentrelinkchainlinkcommlinkcross-linkcufflinkdatalinkdelinkdislinkdownlink

Related forms junction

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

weak link
A part of a connected system that is more likely to fail than the others.

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

See all

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link

Etymology

From Middle English linke, lenke, from a merger of Old English hlenċe, hlenċa (“ring; chainlink”) and Old Norse *hlenkr, hlekkr (“ring; chain”); both from Proto-Germanic *hlankiz (“ring; bond; fettle; fetter”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“bendsome, flexible”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng-, *klenk- (“to bend; twist; wind”). Used in English since the 14th century. Related to lank. Cognates Cognate with Low German Lenk (“link”), Danish lænke (“chain; link”), Elfdalian lekk (“link”), Icelandic hlekkur (“link”), Norwegian Bokmål lenke (“chain; link”), Norwegian Nynorsk lenke, lenkje (“chain;…

linke Middle English hlenċe Old English *hlenkr Old Norse *hlankiz Proto-Germanic *hlankaz Proto-Germanic *kleng- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# link

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /lɪŋk/
**IPA (UK):** /lɪŋk/
**Frequency rank:** 3144

## Meanings
1. A connection between people, things, or ideas.
2. A clickable address that takes you to another web page.
3. One ring or piece of a chain.

## Examples
- There is a clear link between smoking and disease.
- Click the link to read the full article.
- A single link in the chain had broken.

## Synonyms
- attach
- band
- bond
- join
- nexus
- tie
- vinculum

## Antonyms
- break
- gap

## Derived Forms
- airlink
- bloodlink
- cannot-link
- centrelink
- chainlink
- commlink
- cross-link
- cufflink
- datalink
- delink
- dislink
- downlink

## Related Forms
- junction

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: linke
- Root: hlenċe
- Root: *hlenkr
- Root: *hlankiz
- Root: *hlankaz
- Root: *kleng-

## Etymology
From Middle English linke, lenke, from a merger of Old English hlenċe, hlenċa (“ring; chainlink”) and Old Norse *hlenkr, hlekkr (“ring; chain”); both from Proto-Germanic *hlankiz (“ring; bond; fettle; fetter”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“bendsome, flexible”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng-, *klenk- (“to bend; twist; wind”). Used in English since the 14th century. Related to lank. Cognates Cognate with Low German Lenk (“link”), Danish lænke (“chain; link”), Elfdalian lekk (“link”), Icelandic hlekkur (“link”), Norwegian Bokmål lenke (“chain; link”), Norwegian Nynorsk lenke, lenkje (“chain;…

## AI Etymology
Link comes from Middle English linke, lenke, from a merger of Old English hlenċe, hlenċa (“ring; chainlink”) and Old Norse *hlenkr, hlekkr (“ring; chain”); both from Proto-Germanic *hlankiz (“ring; bond; fettle; fetter”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“bendsome, flexible”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng-, *klenk- (“to bend; twist; wind”). Used in English since the 14th century. Related to lank. In present-day English its meanings include a connection between people, things, or ideas, a clickable address that takes you to another web page, and one ring or piece of a chain. The historical chain runs through linke (Middle English), hlenċe (Old English), *hlenkr (Old Norse), *hlankiz (Proto-Germanic), and *hlankaz (Proto-Germanic).

## Topics
- People & Society

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