Coupling

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Couple \Cou"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Coupled} (k[u^]p"'ld); p.
     pr. & vb. n. {Coupling} (k[u^]p"l[i^]ng).] [F. coupler, fr.
     L. copulare. See {Couple}, n., and cf. {Copulate}, {Cobble},
     v.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. To link or tie, as one thing to another; to connect or


        fasten together; to join.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds, . .
              .
              And couple Clowder with the deep-mouthed brach.
                                                    --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To join in wedlock; to marry. [Colloq.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A parson who couples all our beggars. --Swift.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Coupling \Coup"ling\ (-l?ng), n.
     1. The act of bringing or coming together; connection; sexual
        union.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Mach.) A device or contrivance which serves to couple or
        connect adjacent parts or objects; as, a belt coupling,
        which connects the ends of a belt; a car coupling, which
        connects the cars in a train; a shaft coupling, which
        connects the ends of shafts.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Box coupling}, {Chain coupling}. See under {Box}, Chain.
  
     {Coupling box}, a coupling shaped like a journal box, for
        clamping together the ends of two shafts, so that they may
        revolve together.
  
     {Coupling pin}, a pin or bolt used in coupling or joining
        together railroad cars, etc.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  coupling
       n 1: a connection (like a clamp or vise) between two things so
            they move together [syn: {yoke}]
       2: a mechanical device that serves to connect the ends of
          adjacent objects [syn: {coupler}]
       3: the act of pairing a male and female for reproductive
          purposes; "the casual couplings of adolescents"; "the
          mating of some species occurs only in the spring" [syn: {mating},
           {pairing}, {conjugation}, {union}, {sexual union}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  85 Moby Thesaurus words for "coupling":
     agglomeration, agglutination, aggregation, ankle, articulation,
     bond, boundary, bracketing, butt, cervix, clinch, closure,
     clustering, combination, communication, concatenation, concourse,
     concurrence, confluence, congeries, conglomeration, conjugation,
     conjunction, connecting link, connecting rod, connection,
     convergence, copulation, dovetail, elbow, embrace, gathering,
     gliding joint, hinge, hinged joint, hip, hookup,
     intercommunication, intercourse, interface, interlinking, join,
     joinder, joining, joint, jointure, junction, juncture, knee,
     knotting, knuckle, liaison, link, linkage, linking, marriage,
     meeting, merger, merging, miter, mortise, neck, pairing, pivot,
     pivot joint, rabbet, scarf, seam, shoulder, splice, stitch, suture,
     symbiosis, symphysis, tie, tie rod, tie-in, tie-up, toggle,
     toggle joint, unification, union, weld, wrist, yoking
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  coupling
       
           The degree to which components depend
          on one another.  There are two types of coupling, "tight" and
          "loose".  Loose coupling is desirable for good {software
          engineering} but tight coupling may be necessary for maximum
          performance.  Coupling is increased when the data exchanged
          between components becomes larger or more complex.
       
          (1996-08-01)