link 
separate pieces of which a chain is composed. 
In ornamental chain-making, any member of the chain, 
of whatever form, as a plaque, a bead, etc., is called a link. 
Nor airless dungeon, nor strong links of iron, 
Can be retentive to the strength of spirit. 
SlMk., J. C., i. 3. 94. 
Untwining his gold chain from his neck, Balafre . . . 
said, . . . ' Then look that none of the links find their 
way to the wine-house." Scott, Quentin Durward, v. 
2. Anything doubled and closed together like a 
ring or division of a chain. 
Now, sir, a new link to the bucket must needs be had. 
Shale., 2 Hen. IV., v. 1. 23. 
Then down cam Queen Marie 
Wi 1 gold links in her hair. 
Mary Hamilton (Child's Ballads, III. 329). 
3. Anything which serves to connect one thing 
or one part of a thing with another; any con- 
stituent part of a connected series. 
As nature has framed the several species of beings as it 
were In a chain, so man seems to be placed as the mid- 
dle link between angels and brutes. Spectator, No. 408. 
4. A division, forming the hundredth part, of 
the chain used in surveying and for other mea- 
surement. In Gnnter's chain of 66 feet the link Is 7.92 
inches. The chain of 100 feet, with link of a foot, is used 
in the United States exclusively in engineering work, and 
often in surveying. 
5. One of the divisions of a sausage made in a 
continuous chain. [Colloq.] 
Then followed seven camels loaded with links and chit- 
terlings, hog's puddings and sausages. 
Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, ii. 2. (Domes.) 
6. Any rigid movable piece connected with 
other pieces, generally themselves movable, by 
means of interlinked open ends or pivots about 
which it can turn. 7. In a steam-engine, the 
link-motion Link cent. See cent. Missing tinir 
(a) Something lacking for the completion of a series or se- 
quence of any kind ; a desiderated connecting-link. The 
term has been used especially with reference to animal 
forms not found in the supposed succession of development 
from primordial germs by natural variation and "the sur- 
vival of the fittest." (&) In zool., specifically, an unknown 
hypothetical form of animal life in any evolutionary chain 
or series, assumed to have existed at some time and thus to 
have been the connecting-link between some known forms ; 
especially, an anthropomorphic animal supposed to have 
been derived from some simian and to have been the im- 
mediate ancestral stock of the human race ; hence, hu- 
morously, an ape or monkey taken as itself the connecting- 
link for which Darwinians seek. See Alalus. 
The lowest races of men will soon become extinct, like 
the Tasmanians, and the highest Apes cannot long survive. 
Hence the intermediate forms of the past, if any there 
were, become of still greater importance. For such mim- 
ing Kola, we must look to the caves and later Tertiary of 
Africa. 0. C. Marsh, Proc. of Amer. Ass. for Adv. of Sci., 
[1877, p. 266. 
link 1 (lingk), >. [< Zfefcl, .] I. trans. To unite 
or connect by or as if by a link or links ; unite 
by something intervening ; unite in any way ; 
couple; join. 
They're so link'd in friendship 
That young Prince Edward marries Warwick's daughter. 
Shale., 3 Hen. VI , iv. 1. 116. 
In notes with many a winding bout 
Of linked sweetness long drawn out. 
Milton, L' Allegro, 1. 135. 
Link towns to towns with avenues of oak. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. ii. 260. 
Linked ring. See ring. 
II. intrans. To be or become connected ; be 
joined inmarriage; ally one's self; form aunion. 
Now, Warwick, tell me, even upon thy conscience, 
Is Edward your true king? for I were loath 
To link with him that were not lawful chosen. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., iii. 3. 115. 
The nickering fairy-circle wheel'd and broke 
Flying, and link'd again. Tennyson, Guinevere. 
link 2 (lingk), n. [A dial, and more orig. form 
of linen 1 , q. v.] 1. A crook or winding of a 
river; the ground lying along such a winding: 
as, the links of the Forth. [Scotch.] 2. pi. A 
stretch of flat or slightly undulating ground on 
the sea-shore, often in part sandy and covered 
with bent-grass, furze, etc. , and sometimes with 
a good sward, on part of it at least. [Scotch.] 
- Links goose. See goose. 
link 3 (lingk), n. [A corruption of lint?, orig. 
lunt, a torch: see lunt.] A torch made of tow 
or hards, etc., and pitch, carried for lighting 
the streets, formerly common in Great Britain, 
and still used in London in fogs. 
There was no lint to colour Peter's hat. 
Shak., T. of the S., Iv. 1. 137. 
Those that, seeking to light a Lynke, quenched a Lamp. 
Lyly, Euphues and his England, p. 240. 
This place is so haunted with batts that their perpetual 
fluttering endanger'd the putting out our Knkes. 
Evelyn, Diary, Feb. 7, 1645. 
link 8 (lingk), I), t. [< , w .] To burn or 
give light. [Prov. Eng.] 
link 4 (lingk), . i. [Origin obscure ; cf. Kffc 2 .] 
To go smartly; trip alone;; do anything smart- 
ly and quickly. [North. Eng. and Scotch.] 
Kemp's Linkage for trisecting E 
angle. 
flat static 
3468 
They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit, 
Till ilka carline swat and reekit, 
And coost her duddies to the wark, 
And linket at it in her sark. Burns, Tarn o' Shanter. 
linkage (ling'kaj), . 
system of connected 
links; acombination 
of pieces pivoted to- 
gether so as to turn 
about one another 
in parallel planes of 
rotation. Sometimes 
the meaning is extended 
to embrace cases where 
the motions are not in 
parallel planes ; and such 
a linkage is termed a 
solid, as opposed to a 
plane, linkage. 
In Chapter xi. we ar- 
rive at the study "beam linkages" that is, 
structures containing beam links." 
The Engineer, LXVIII. 207. 
2. The state of being linked together. 
Briihl showed that in case of "double-linkage" each 
such carbon-atom has a refraction equivalent to about 6.1. 
Jour. Franklin Jnst., CXXIII. 74. 
Complete linkage, a linkage whose parts are so jointed 
that they can move only in one way relatively to one an- 
other. Primary, secondary, etc., linkage, a linkage 
which has one, two, etc., degrees of freedom more than a 
complete linkage. 
link-block (lingk'blok), n. In steam-engines, 
the block attached to a valve-stem, and actu- 
ated by the link-motion. 
linkboy (lingk'boi), n. A boy or man who car- 
ries a link or torch to light passengers in the 
streets of a city. Improved streeHighting has made 
the employment of linkboys generally unnecessary; but 
they are still required in London during the dense fogs 
frequently occurring there. 
Then shalt thou walk, unharm'd, the dangerous night, 
Nor need th' officious link-boy's smoky light. 
Gay, Trivia, iii. 114. 
He had . . . brought a four-wheeled cab, accompanied 
by two linkboys with blazing torches, up to the stage-door. 
W. Nock, Prince Fortunatus, xix. 
linkistert, . A corrupt form of linguister. 
There was one Redman suspected to have betrayed their 
pinnace, for he, being Knkiater (because he could speak 
the language), and being put out of that employment for 
his evil carriage, did bear ill will to the master. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, II. 290. 
link-lever (Imgk'lev'er), n. In a steam-engine, 
a lever by which the link of a link-motion valve- 
gear is controlled by the attending engineer; 
in particular, the reversing-lever of a locomo- 
tive engine. 
linkman (lingk'man), n.; pi. liiikmen (-men). 
A man employed to carry a link or torch to 
light passengers. See linkboy. 
link-motion (lingk'mo"shon), . 1. A system 
of pieces pivoted together, and turning about 
pivots attached to a fixed 
base, all the rotations be- 
ing in the same plane or 
parallel planes, so that 
all the points describe 
definite curves; a com- 
plete linkwork. Link- 
motions have been deeply 
*-""" 1 ""'"" 1 - studied by mathematicians, 
especially since 184, the date 
of the discovery of the Peaucellier cell. The problems in- 
volved are exceedingly difficult, as well as practically of 
no little importance. Any algebraic curve whatever may 
be drawn by a suitable link-motion. See Peaucellier cell, 
under cell. 
Specifically 2. In steam-engines, a system of 
gearing for controlling the valves for the pur- 
pose of starting or reversing the engine, and 
for controlling the cut-off. See valve-r/cnr. The 
link-motion combines in itself a variable cut-off by which 
the expansion of the" steam can be diminished or increased 
as the resistance to the engine increases or diminishes, and 
reversing mechanism whereby the engine may be caused 
to reverse the motion of its crank-shaft as desired in loco- 
motives, marine engines, and some kinds of stationary en- 
gines. 
Starting ahead or astern is effected by link-motion. 
Luce, Seamanship, p. 225. 
linkpin (lingk'pin), n. A dialectal variant of 
linch-jnn. 
link-rooming (ling^ro'ining), n. Naut., the 
operation of filling up the spiral depressions 
of a rope by means of chains wound into these 
depressions. The chains thus inserted make the sur- 
face of the rope more uniform, and protect the softer 
parts from abrasion. 
linkwork (lingk'werk), n. A linkage pivoted 
to a fixed base. Complete linkwork, a linkwork 
whose parts can move but in one way relative to the base ; 
a link-motion. 
linn, . See Kw 2 . 
Linnaa (li-ne'a), . [NL. (Grouovius, 1742), 
named after Linneens, a celebrated naturalist : 
Linociera 
see Linnean.'] A genus of caprif oliaceous plants 
of the tribe Lonicerece. It is characterized by lan- 
ceolate calyx-lobes, drooping three-celled many-seeded 
fruit, and long two-flowered peduncle. The only species 
is L. bwealis. See twin-fiower. 
linnaeite (li-ne'It), n. [< Limucus (see Linnean) 
+ -ite' 2 .] A native sulphid of cobalt, of a tin- 
white color, crystallizing in octahedral crystals, 
also occurring massive. Siegenite is a nickel- 
iferous variety. 
Linnean, Linhaean (li-ne'an), a. [< Linim'iis 
(see def.) + -an.] Pertaining to Carolus Lin- 
naeus or Carl Linns' (called Carl von Linn6 when 
ennobled in 1761), a celebrated Swedish natu- 
ralist (1707-78) Linnean system, in but., the sys- 
tem of classification introduced by Linnreus. This was 
the artificial, as contrasted with the later-developed natu- 
ral system of Jussieu. Its fundamental division is into 24 
classes, the last of which consists of plants without sta- 
mens and pistils, the Cryptogamia, the other 23 being the 
Phanerogamia. The latter classes are based on the sta- 
mens, their number, insertion, connection with each other, 
etc. The orders are founded mostly on the number of 
styles or stigmas, some of them on characters relating to 
the fruits, others again on the number of stamens in classes 
which are not defined by the stamens, and some on other 
considerations. The Cryptogamia were divided into Fili- 
cc(ferns), Musci (mosses), Algce (including, besides the sea- 
weeds, the Uepaticd, Lichenes, etc.Xand Fungi (the mush- 
rooms, etc.). This gave a definite and convenient scheme, 
of no scientific value in classification, but exceedingly 
useful in its day as a key to the nomenclature of botany. 
Compare Ju&tieuan. 
linnent, o. and n. An obsolete spelling of 
linen. 
linnet (lin'et), n. [< ME. linet, It/net, < AS. 
Kiietc, a linnet; mixed in ME. with OF. linot, 
F. linot, m., linotte, {., a linnet; so called from 
their feeding on flaxseed, < L. liniim, flax: see 
linel, n. Cf. the related lintwhitcl. Cf. G. liiinf- 
ling, a linnet, < hanf, hemp.] 1. A small song- 
bird, Linaria or Linota cannabina, of the fam- 
ily Fringillidce, inhabiting parts of Europe, Asia, 
and Africa. It is about 5J inches long, and 9^ in extent 
of wings. The plumage is streaked with various gray, 
Linnet (Z inota cannabina). 
brown, and flaxen shades; the male in summer has the 
poll and breast rosy or red. The linnet is called gray, 
brown, and red or rose, according to sex and season ; it has 
also many local or dialectal names. The yellow-billed 
linnet, mountain-linnet, or twite is another species of the 
same genus, L. Jtavirostris or L. montium. There are yet 
other species, and sundry related birds also are called 
linnets, as the redpolls of the genus Jigiothus. The bird 
called pine-linnet or pine-finch in the United States is a 
siskin, Chrysomitris pinus. 
2. An ore which contains phosphate intermixed 
with carbonate of lead in variable proportions : 
so called on account of the linnet-like color due 
to the presence of the phosphate. [Prov. Eng. 
(Derbyshire).] Chevy, French, red, red-headed, 
and rose linnet, the redpoll. Seven-colored linnet, 
the goldfinch, Carduelis elegans. 
linnet-finch, (lin'et-finch), n. Same as linnet, 1. 
linnet-hole (lin'et-hol), n. [< 'linnet, a cor- 
ruption of F. lunette, + 7(ofcl.] One of the cir- 
cular or semicircular holes in the upper part of 
the sides of a glass-melting furnace, through 
which flame and smoke pass into the arch. 
linot, [< F. linon, lawn; see limni."] A silk 
gossamer stuff. Davies. 
He absolutely insisted upon presenting me with a com- 
plete suit of gauze linn. 
Mme. D'Arblay, Diary (1780), i. 310. (Dams.) 
Linociera (H-no-si'e-ra), n. [NL. (O. Swartz, 
1797), named after G. Linocier, a French physi- 
cian.] A genus of oleaceous trees or shrubs 
of the tribe Oleinert. It is characterized by long lin- 
ear petals, free or sometimes united in pairs, a hard dru- 
paceous fruit, and flowers usuallygrowing in lateral cymes. 
The leaves arc opposite and entire. There are about 40 
species, found throughout all the tropical regions (if the 
globe. L. incratsata of Jamaica, a large tree with pnui- 
cles of white flowers, is called snowdrop-tree. L. liftits- 
trina, of the same and other West Indian Islands, is called 
Jamaica rosewood. 
