Part 718

And so by double links enchained themselves in lover's life.

Gascoigne.

3. Anything doubled and closed like a link; as, a link of horsehair. Mortimer.

4. (Kinematics) Any one of the several elementary pieces of a mechanism, as the fixed frame, or a rod, wheel, mass of confined liquid, etc., by which relative motion of other parts is produced and constrained.

5. (Mach.) Any intermediate rod or piece for transmitting force or motion, especially a short connecting rod with a bearing at each end; specifically (Steam Engine), the slotted bar, or connecting piece, to the opposite ends of which the eccentric rods are jointed, and by means of which the movement of the valve is varied, in a link motion.

6. (Surveying) The length of one joint of Gunter's chain, being the hundredth part of it, or 7.92 inches, the chain being 66 feet in length. Cf. Chain, n., 4.

7. (Chem.) A bond of affinity, or a unit of valence between atoms; -- applied to a unit of chemical force or attraction.

8. pl. Sausages; -- because linked together. [Colloq.]

Link (lk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Linked (lkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Linking.] To connect or unite with a link or as with a link; to join; to attach; to unite; to couple.

All the tribes and nations that composed it [the Roman Empire] were linked together, not only by the same laws and the same government, but by all the facilities of commodious intercourse, and of frequent communication.

Eustace.

Link, v. i. To be connected.

No one generation could link with the other.

Burke.

Link"age (lk"j; 48), n. 1. The act of linking; the state of being linked; also, a system of links.

2. (Chem.) Manner of linking or of being linked; -- said of the union of atoms or radicals in the molecule.

3. (Geom.) A system of straight lines or bars, fastened together by joints, and having certain of their points fixed in a plane. It is used to describe straight lines and curves in the plane.

{ Link"boy` (-boi`), Link"man (-mn), } n. [See 1st Link.] A boy or man that carried a link or torch to light passengers.

Link" mo"tion (m"shn). (Steam Engine) A valve gear, consisting of two eccentrics with their rods, giving motion to a slide valve by an adjustable connecting bar, called the link, in such a way that the motion of the engine can be reversed, or the cut-off varied, at will; -- used very generally in locomotives and marine engines.

The illustration shows a link motion for a vertical engine, c representing the shaft carrying two eccentrics, a and b, for making the engine run forward and backward, respectively, their rods e and d being jointed to opposite ends of the slotted link f, in the opening of which is a pin g which is attached to the valve rod h. The valve will receive the motion of the forward eccentric when the link is in the position shown, and the motion of the backward eccentric when the link is shifted so far to the right as to bring e in line with h, or a compound motion derived from both eccentrics when the link is shifted to intermediate positions, the compound motion causing the valve to cut off the steam at a point determined by the position to which the link may have been shifted.

Link"work` (-wûrk`), n. 1. A fabric consisting of links made of metal or other material fastened together; also, a chain.

And thou shalt make hooks of gold, and two chains of fine gold; linkwork and wreathed.

Udall.

2. Mechanism in which links, or intermediate connecting pieces, are employed to transmit motion from one part to another.

||Lin*næ"a bo`re*a"lis (ln*n" b`r*"ls). [NL. Linnaeus Linnæan + L. ||borealis northern.] (Bot.) The twin flower which grows in cold ||northern climates. || { Lin*næ"an, Lin*ne"an } (ln*n"an), a. Of or pertaining to Linnæus, the celebrated Swedish botanist.

Linnæan system (Bot.), the system in which the classes are founded mainly upon the number of stamens, and the orders upon the pistils; the artificial or sexual system.

Lin*næ"ite (-t), n. [See Linnæan.] (Min.) A mineral of pale steel- gray color and metallic luster, occurring in isometric crystals, and also massive. It is a sulphide of cobalt containing some nickel or copper.

Linne (ln), n. Flax. See Linen. [Obs.]