linkage

American  

[ling-kij] / ˈlɪŋ kɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act of linking; link; state or manner of being linked. link. linked.

2. a system of links. link. links.

3. Genetics. an association between two or more genes on a chromosome that tends to cause the characteristics determined by these genes to be inherited as an inseparable unit.

4. Machinery. an assembly of four or more rods for transmitting motion, usually in the same plane or in parallel planes.

5. a factor or relationship that connects or ties one thing to another; link.

   Administration officials sought to establish linkage between grain sales and relaxed immigration laws.

6. any of various mathematical or drawing devices consisting of a combination of bars or pieces pivoted together so as to turn about one another, usually in parallel planes.

7. Electricity. flux linkage.

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linkage British  

/ ˈlɪŋkɪdʒ /

noun

1. the act of linking or the state of being linked

2. a system of interconnected levers or rods for transmitting or regulating the motion of a mechanism

3. electronics the product of the total number of lines of magnetic flux and the number of turns in a coil or circuit through which they pass

4. genetics the occurrence of two genes close together on the same chromosome so that they are unlikely to be separated during crossing over and tend to be inherited as a single unit

5. the fact of linking separate but related issues in the course of political negotiations

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Other Word Forms

• nonlinkage adjective

Etymology

Origin of linkage

First recorded in 1870–75; link ¹ + -age

Example Sentences

The characters’ linkage had to support the weight of everything that happens later in the story, including the death of one the couple’s three children, named Hamnet.

From The Wall Street Journal

"There are no rail networks here and there's really poor public transport so the linkages to other centres and other hospitals is really poor," she told BBC News NI.

From BBC

“Silver has deviated from its linkages to gold and other precious metals,” said Yung-Shin Kung, chief investment officer of Mast Investments.

From Barron's

Advocates of a U.S. takeover say that Greenland would benefit from association with the world’s leading superpower—and a range of linkages are possible.

From The Wall Street Journal

Investigations into some of these linkages were among the more than 50 autism-related studies whose funding Kennedy has cut since taking office, a ProPublica investigation found.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• connection
• correlation
• interconnection
• interdependence
• link
• relationship
• similarity