# A link in a chain



## ThomasK

What is your translation, what are your words for that? And can you use that metaphorically - like the links in the food chains, maybe the links in a proces? 

Dutch: _een *schakel* in een *keten*_ (fig. mainly)/* ketting *(mainly lit.)
English: _a *link* in a *chain* _
_(though the word_ shackle _is etymologically related with_ schakel in Dutch - _but only referred to an impediment on an animal's foot, now to an old metal fastening for prisoners..._)
German: _ein *Glied *in einer *Kette *_
_(maybe something like a joint...) _

We all seem to know : 
_*-* _missing links,_ ontbrekende schakels, fehlende Glieder _
_-_ weak links_, zwakke schakels, schwache Glieder_


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## DearPrudence

In French:
*"le maillon d'une chaîne"*

(Thomas, vous êtes le maillon faible, au revoir ! )


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## ThomasK

So one can broadly (...) use 'maillon' then! But it is not as broad as our Dutch _schakel_, I suppose, which has given rise to the verb _schakelen_, to switch (_brancher_, I suppose). 

In the meantime I came across the Swedish word *'länk'*, which I recognize in the English 'link' and the German 'Gelenk'...


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## DearPrudence

Indeed you can't use "maillon" for many things & I can't think of a derived verb.


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## ThomasK

But how about those chains then, which often contain maillons, or links? The food chain, or the consumer-producer chain, etc.? No particular word used in those 'connections'?


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## DearPrudence

Hmm, it's simply called "*une chaîne*".
"la chaîne alimentaire",...

Does it answer your question?


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## ThomasK

Yes ! But I hoped you'd use the word in other contexts, and that then another link-word would come up - but this is fine !


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## Guiom82

In French, we mostly use maillon and chaîne for jewelry.
However, be careful because in other chains, anyway in production chains  (chaîne de production) or food chains (chaîne alimentaire), the word  maillon stands for an element (a production step or a given species), not for a  link between two elements (Step A then Step B, or birds eat worms). In English it may mean both, I do not know about the other languages.
In evolution, we have the missing link is called Le chaînon manquant, but in other contexts I cannot remember hearing chaînon.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
«Κρίκος* της αλυσίδας**»
'krikos tis ali'siðas
lit. "ring of chain"
The link in the food chain is «ο κρίκος της τροφικής αλυσίδας» (o 'krikos tis trofi'kis ali'siðas) lit. "the ring οf the alimentary chain" 

*«Κρίκος» ('krikos _m._), from the Classical masculine noun «κρίκος» ('krīkŏs)-->init. the _ring on a horse's breastband_ later, _any ring, link in a chain_, PIE base *(s)ker-, _to cut, bend, carve, twist_.
**«Αλυσίδα» (ali'siða _f._); diminutive of the Classical feminine noun «ἅλυσις» ('hălūsīs)-->init. _distress, anguish _later_ chain _from PIE base *wel-, _to turn, bend, twist, roll_.


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## bibax

Czech: *článek řetězu*

*článek* = article;

Like Latin _articulus_ is a diminutive of _artus_ (member of a body, limb, extremity), Czech _článek_ is a diminutive of _člen_ which has the same primary meaning like Latin _artus_. All these nouns have figurative meanings. For example *článek* can mean: a newspaper article, internodium of a halm, phalanx of a finger, cell (of a battery, of the phase space, ...), etc.

Proto-Slavic *čelnъ* is perhaps (?) from PIE base *qleng- "to bend" (O.N. _*hlenkr_, O.E. _hlencan_ "armor", PGmc. _*khlankijaz_).

missing link = chybějící článek;

BTW chain is obviously from Latin _catena_.


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## ThomasK

Thanks for the Greek, Apmoy. I feel like going into your chain word: intriguing. But I might be back. 

Czech *článek*, article, reminds me of the German _Gelenk_, French _articulation_, _joint_, and yes,_ lid/Glied_, member ! - As for _catena_, I'll have a look later on as well. But is there a special root in *řetězu? *


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## Montesacro

apmoy70 said:


> In Greek:
> «Κρίκος* της αλυσίδας**»
> 'krikos tis ali'siðas
> lit. "ring of chain"



Same in Italian:

_l'anello di una catena_ (lit. the ring of a chain).

_L'anello mancante_ --> the missing link


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## ThomasK

Interesting association : link and ring. To us as speakers of Dutch rings are associated with fingers, etc., but never with chains. 

I am just wondering: *do you call yourself a link in a chain sometimes*? The funny thing is that our word schakel is very popular for names of organisations (focusing on the idea of unity, I am sure) - whereas links are not individual, they're just links.


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## bibax

> Same in Italian:
> 
> l'anello di una catena (lit. the ring of a chain).


Same in Latin: *anulus catenae*

anulus (= ring, lit. little circle) is a diminutive of anus (= circle);


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## Tjahzi

*Swedish* uses _En länk _[lɛŋk]_ i en_ _kedja_ [ɕeːdja]. (I've also heard [ɕɛːdja].) Interestingly enough, there is also a word _ketting_ [ɕɛtɪŋ], that seems to mean the same as _kedja_, but to me it's bigger and I associate it with maritime usage. 

Both words have rather broad usages, _chain of command_ - _befälskedja_ to online _links_ - _länkar_.


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## ThomasK

Excellent, ladies and gents, thanks.


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## Maroseika

Russian: звено цепи.
Звено (zveno) - link, the word is not completely clear but said to originate from звенеть - to ring, i.e. this is due to which the chain can ring.
Цепь (tsep') - chain, is also not very clear. Most likely goes back to the IE *(s)kei-p - to separate, because the chain consists of separate links.

Figuratively it is used very widely - as a link of any chain, including the food chain, but all of them seems calcqued.


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## itreius

BCS-Croatian:

_karika u lancu_

karika - link (<- Hungarian _karika_ ~ ring)
lanac - chain (<- *lanьcъ)

food chain - hranidbeni lanac
weakest link - najslabija karika


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## Orlin

Bulgarian: звено/(rarely) брънка от верига. I think "звено" is used metaphorically in "слабото звено" (the weak link) and we also had some political organisations named "Звено", unfortunately don't remember any details. "Food chain" is "хранителна верига" in Bulgarian.


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## bibax

Hungarian: *láncszem*

*lánc* [la:nts] = chain (cf. BCS _lanac_);
*szem* [sem] = eye;

*gyorsétkeztetési lánc* = fast-food chain;
*hiányzó láncszem* = missing link;


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## bibax

> Цепь (tsep') - chain, is also not very clear. Most likely goes back to the IE *(s)kei-p - to separate, because the chain consists of separate links.


In Czech *cep* [tsep] (O.Cz. _cěp_ from the verb _cěpiti, ščepiti_ = to split, to fission, to disunite) means _flail_ (an old agriculture instrument, also a medieval weapon).


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## Hakro

Tjahzi said:


> *Swedish* uses _En länk _[lɛŋk]_ i en_ _kedja_ [ɕeːdja]. (I've also heard [ɕɛːdja].) Interestingly enough, there is also a word _ketting_ [ɕɛtɪŋ], that seems to mean the same as _kedja_, but to me it's bigger and I associate it with maritime usage.
> 
> Both words have rather broad usages, _chain of command_ - _befälskedja_ to online _links_ - _länkar_.


The *Finnish* words are of Swedish origin:
- lenkki - länk
- ketju - kedja (also in figurative meaning)
- kettinki - ketting (only in material meaning)

The Finnish word _lenkki_ is also used for sling, stirrup, turn (of a rope) and some other meanings. It can also mean a popular type on sausage, officially _lenkkimakkara_, that looks like a chain link.

Instead, the Internet link is called _linkki._


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## ThomasK

Don't you have any Finnish words for that then, Hakro? Not even an old word ? Or yes, maybe the word is not that old with us either, or at least not the verb. You don't use anything like a ring then, do you ?

@Bibax (et al.): how interesting to hear that the underlying word here refers to separating. Of course those are separate links, but their essence consists in being joined, I think. 

Flail : we know it as a _dorsvlegel_, a threshing flail (though it can also refer to the dangerous weapon), but what is interesting is that the base of the flail power is in the 'loose link', I think, which allows for the stick or weapon to be thrown with more force, i.e., in the link ! No ?


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## Hakro

ThomasK said:


> Don't you have any Finnish words for that then, Hakro? Not even an old word ? Or yes, maybe the word is not that old with us either, or at least not the verb. You don't use anything like a ring then, do you ?


I can't find any originally Finnish word for "link". Well, the word _rengas_ can be used for the chain link but it's considered "non-professional", and it's also a loan word, as you can easily see.

We have some modern Finnish words like _yhdys_ and _yhde_ but they are used only for electronics, not for iron chains.


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## ThomasK

I see, something like a connection then...


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## Hakro

ThomasK said:


> I see, something like a connection then...


Connection, exactly.


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## Gavril

Hakro said:


> I can't find any originally Finnish word for "link".



How about _silmukka_ "loop"?


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## ThomasK

That is interesting, but the idea of a rope does not remind me of chains, I guess.Though it might refer to connections, it does not to me as a Dutch speaker: it mainly has to do with a shape, but we do not connect that shape with a connection, only with hanging - and the gallows... ;-)

Thanks for the intersting contributions, as they help me to finetune something intriguing (to me) that I wish to explore, regarding the link between words and concepts (see also here).


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## er targyn

In Kazakh: шынжырдың үзбесі; шынжырдың түйіні
In Turkish: zincir halkası/baklası


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## ThomasK

Great to read this information, but could you comment on both _(and transliterate Kazakh - I might try but you'd laugh at me...)_?


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## Hakro

Gavril said:


> How about _silmukka_ "loop"?


_Silmukka_ is sometimes a synonym for _lenkki_ (for example _lenkkiavain, silmukka-avain _= ring spanner) but not a synonym for _linkki._


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## er targyn

ThomasK said:


> Great to read this information, but could you comment on both _(and transliterate Kazakh - I might try but you'd laugh at me...)_?



şınjırdıŋ üzbesi; şınjırdıŋ tüyini

I just copied my dictionary's entries. Both words for chain must be loans. In Kazakh a genitive (-dıŋ) is used.


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## GOODVIEW

Well, in Portuguese we say:

_O elo de uma corrente_

The missing link, for example, is _o elo perdido_, which reminds me that in French they say _le chaînon manquant_. The French could confirm that _chaînon_ is a synonym for _maillon_ and perhaps tell us in what circumstances they would use the one or the other.


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## ThomasK

Thanks, but what is the precise meaning of 'elo'? Could you use it metaphorically? 

@er targyn: could you comment on the origin of either Turkish or Khazakh, to whatever extent? Either the broad or narrow use of the word, or ... ?


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## GOODVIEW

ThomasK said:


> Thanks, but what is the precise meaning of 'elo'? Could you use it metaphorically?
> 
> @er targyn: could you comment on the origin of either Turkish or Khazakh, to whatever extent? Either the broad or narrow use of the word, or ... ?


 
An "elo" is every link on a chain, but it can also be used figuratively as something that sets a connection between things, people, etc...


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## ThomasK

I see, thanks !


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## HUMBERT0

In Spanish is *eslabón.*

*eslabón**.*
(Quizá del gót. _*snôbô_; cf. a. al. ant. _snuoba_, cinta, lazo).

*1. *m. Pieza en forma de anillo o de otra curva cerrada que enlazada con otras forma cadena. U. t. en sent. fig.
*2. *m. Elemento necesario para el enlace de acciones, sucesos, etc.


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## mataripis

i forgot that term in Tagalog but here is the simple translation,  Tugma sa nawalang kasagutan, This must be the one.


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## ThomasK

Coudl you comment on that? Is _tugma_ a link, a ring, or ... ?


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