Contextualizebeta

couple

noun
/ˈkʌp.əl/

Etymology

From Middle English couple, from Old French couple, from Latin cōpula. Doublet of copula.

  1. derived from cōpula
  2. derived from couple
  3. inherited from couple

Definitions

  1. Two of the same kind connected or considered together.

    • A couple of police officers appeared at the door.
    • 'Tis in some sort with Friends (Pardon the Coarseness of the illustration) as it is with Dogs in Couples. They should be of the same Size; and Humour; and That which Pleases the One should Please the Other
    • […]couple of tables; one of which bore some preparations for supper; while, on the other […]

  2. Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.

  3. A small number.

    • A couple of billiard balls, all mud and dirt, two battered hats, a champagne bottle […]
    • ‘Oh, merely a couple of hundred a year, but the work is slight, and it need not interfere very much with one’s other occupations.’
    • When we got on board again after a couple of hours on shore[…]
  4. ›+ 11 more definitions

    1. One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a…

      One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.

    2. A turning effect created by forces that produce a non-zero external torque.

    3. A couple-close.

    4. That which joins or links two things together

      That which joins or links two things together; a bond or tie; a coupler.

      • I’ll keep my stables where / I lodge my wife; I’ll go in couples with her;
      • As we passed the deserted mountain-dairy, we must have crossed the fresh track of a hare, because the hounds became rather uneasy in the couples.

    5. Two or (a) small number of.

      • Put any couple guys in a tricked out car and a couple of bandannas […]" He trailed off.
      • Since we were now living so close, at least those couple hours of talking together helped boost our spirits.
      • Apparently, Ann in particular liked these couple pages of the character thing.

    6. Two or a few, a small number of.

      • A couple fewer people show up every week.
      • I'll be there in a couple minutes.

    7. To join (two things) together, or (one thing) to (another).

      • Now the conductor will couple the train cars.
      • I've coupled our system to theirs.
      • The familiarly pleasant smell of fried burgers couples with the piquant scent of fishsauce out here among the tables where diners feed like sharks from paper-lined baskets heaped with fries.

    8. To join in wedlock

      To join in wedlock; to marry.

      • I am just going to perform a very good office, it is to assist with the archbishop, in degrading a parson who couples all our beggars

    9. To join in sexual intercourse

      To join in sexual intercourse; to copulate.

      • On their wedding night they coupled nine times.
      • She had the brilliant inventor and craftsman Daedalus construct her an artificial cow, in which she hid and induced the bull to couple with her […]

    10. To cause (two animals) to copulate, to bring (two animals) together for mating.

      • The Parilia was generally considered to be the best time for coupling the rams and the ewes.

    11. To enter (multiple horses with the same owner) into a race so that a single bet can be…

      To enter (multiple horses with the same owner) into a race so that a single bet can be placed on any of them winning.

The neighborhood

Derived

active couple, argue like a married couple, argue like an old married couple, bicker like a married couple, bicker like an old married couple, bridal couple, coupla, couple-beggar, couple-close, coupledom, couplehood, couple-ish, couple-three, couple three, couple up, coupley, couplezilla, couplish, couply, dual career couple, dual earner couple, fight like a married couple, fight like an old married couple, galvanic couple, have a couple, in a couple of shakes, incouple, intercouple, married couple, medcouple, noncouple, odd couple, power couple, Romeo and Juliet couple, supercouple, thermocouple, throuple, voltaic couple, accouple, couplable · +7 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at couple. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01couple02romantic03idea04perfect05flaw06shiver07sail08arranged

A definitional loop anchored at couple. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at couple

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA