COUPLING


Meaning of COUPLING in English

ˈkəpliŋ, -lēŋ noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English, from gerund of couplen to couple, join

1. : the act of bringing together : pairing : a coming together ; specifically : sexual union

2. : a device that serves to couple or connect the ends of adjacent parts or objects

a belt coupling

a car coupling

a shaft coupling

a pipe coupling

— see fluid coupling

3. : the joint together with its supporting structures between the last lumbar vertebra and the sacrum that joins the hindquarters to the trunk ; broadly : the part of the body or the conformation and proportionate length of the part of the body that joins the hindquarters to the forequarters — used of a horse, dog, or other mammalian quadruped

4.

a. : an arrangement of two electric circuits by means of which the electromotive force and current in one circuit are influenced by the electromotive force and current in the other

b. : an interaction between two systems or parts of the same system, especially between parts of atomic or molecular systems (as the mutual magnetic influence of two spinning electrons)

5. : the tendency of certain genetic characters to be inherited together presumably because of linkage of the dominant genes that control their expression — compare repulsion

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.