couplen.
/ˈkʌpl/, U.S. /ˈkəp(ə)l/ I. That which unites two.† 3. Union or coupling in matrimony; the bond of wedlock; sexual union. Obsolete.
1. figurative.1854 W. M. Thackeray Newcomes (1855) II. vii. 66 In pursuit of a husband who will run away from the couple.
a. A brace or leash for holding two hounds together. Usually in plural; also a pair of couples.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > [noun] > leash for hounds
leasha1300
couplec1400
lyamc1400
coupling1607
dog couple1649
swingea1661
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1147 Couples huntes of kest [= hunters cast off couples].
1483 Cath. Angl. 86 A Cwpylle of hundys, copula.
1486 Bk. St. Albans E v b When he has of cast his cowples at will.
1602 Returne fr. Parnassus (Arb.) ii. v. 32 Another company of houndes..had their couples cast off.
1678 London Gaz. No. 1345/4 Strayed..a red pied Fox Beagle Bitch.. with a pair of Couples about her neck.
a1763 W. Shenstone Progress of Taste ii. in Wks. Verse & Prose (1764) I. 267 Oh days! when to a girdle ty'd The couples gingled at his side.
1781 P. Beckford Thoughts on Hunting vi. 76 Care should be taken that the couples be not too loose, lest they should slip their necks out of the collar.
1821 W. Scott Kenilworth III. ix. 153 Hounds yelled in their couples.
b. transferred and figurative. to go in couples, to hunt in couples, to run in couples. Here the original meaning is often forgotten, and couples used with the sense of pairs, twos.
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1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. i. sig. B3 S'death, you perpetuall Curres, Fall to your couples, againe, and cossen kindly. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 137 Ile keepe my Stables where I lodge my Wife, Ile goe in couples with her. View more context for this quotation
1633 P. Fletcher Purple Island ii. xii. 19 (note) None of them [sc. the nerves] single, but runne in couples.
1644–7 J. Cleveland Char. London Diurnall 4 They hunt in their Couples, what one doth at the head, the other scores up at the heele.
?1706 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft: 2nd Pt. iv. 39 (Like Blood-hounds) they usually hunt (in couples) together, (Avarice and Ambition) that's their Name.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. II. 159 And when he had been sufficiently broken in, in the parlour, he began to run in couples in the Assembly-room.
2. transferred.† a. A connection between two parts of the body; ? a ligament. Obsolete.† b. Grammar. A connecting word or particle; a copula. Obsolete.
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the world > life > the body > structural parts > sinew, tendon, or ligament > [noun]
sinec725
sinewOE
stringc1000
bend1398
nerfa1400
nervea1400
cordc1400
ligamentc1400
ligaturec1400
couple1535
chord?1541
lien?1541
tendon?1541
tendant1614
artery1621
leader1708
ligamentum1713
chorda1807
vinculum1859
Tenon's capsule1868
tendo1874
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Coloss. ii. C The heade, wherof the whole body by ioyntes and couples receaueth norishment, and is knyt together.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > a part of speech > verb > [noun] > copula
couple1628
copula1649
copulative1751
thought-sign1852
appredicatea1856
link-verb1892
1628 T. Spencer Art of Logick 161 The Verbe (in the common language of the Schooles) is called the band, or couple.
1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 152 It is called the Subjunctive Mood, because it is subjoin'd or added to the first Sentence by some Cople or Tye.
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the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > sexual intercourse
ymonec950
moneOE
meanc1175
manredc1275
swivinga1300
couplec1320
companyc1330
fellowred1340
the service of Venusc1350
miskissinga1387
fellowshipc1390
meddlinga1398
carnal knowinga1400
flesha1400
knowledgea1400
knowledginga1400
japec1400
commoning?c1425
commixtionc1429
itc1440
communicationc1450
couplingc1475
mellingc1480
carnality1483
copulation1483
mixturea1500
Venus act?1507
Venus exercise?1507
Venus play?1507
Venus work?1507
conversation?c1510
flesh-company1522
act?1532
carnal knowledge1532
occupying?1544
congression1546
soil1555
conjunction1567
fucking1568
rem in re1568
commixture1573
coiture1574
shaking of the sheets?1577
cohabitation1579
bedding1589
congress1589
union1598
embrace1599
making-outa1601
rutting1600
noddy1602
poop-noddy1606
conversinga1610
carnal confederacy1610
wapping1610
businessa1612
coition1615
doinga1616
amation1623
commerce1624
hot cocklesa1627
other thing1628
buck1632
act of love1638
commistion1658
subagitation1658
cuntc1664
coit1671
intimacy1676
the last favour1676
quiffing1686
old hat1697
correspondence1698
frigging1708
Moll Peatley1711
coitus1713
sexual intercourse1753
shagging1772
connection1791
intercourse1803
interunion1822
greens1846
tail1846
copula1864
poking1864
fuckeea1866
sex relation1871
wantonizing1884
belly-flopping1893
twatting1893
jelly roll1895
mattress-jig1896
sex1900
screwing1904
jazz1918
zig-zig1918
other1922
booty1926
pigmeat1926
jazzing1927
poontang1927
relations1927
whoopee1928
nookie1930
hump1931
jig-a-jig1932
homework1933
quickie1933
nasty1934
jig-jig1935
crumpet1936
pussy1937
Sir Berkeley1937
pom-pom1945
poon1947
charvering1954
mollocking1959
leg1967
rumpy-pumpy1968
shafting1971
home plate1972
pata-pata1977
bonking1985
legover1985
knobbing1986
rumpo1986
fanny1993
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > [noun] > union in
yokeOE
couplec1320
alliancec1325
unionc1475
accouplement1483
accouplinga1535
conjunction1541
coupling1641
conjuncture1679
conjugationc1783
c1320 Orpheo 422 in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës II. 265 A foule couple it were forthy To lete hur com in thy company.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. x. 180 Hit is an vn-comely couple..To ȝeuen a ȝong wenche to an old feble Mon.
c1450 J. Myrc Instr. to Par. Priests 194 Wyth-owten cowpulle or fleschly dede.
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) clxii. 631 It were a mete copyll of vs twayne to be ioyned together in maryage.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. L2v To be begotten in the honest and chast couple of marriage.
II. A union of two; a pair. The plural after a numeral is often couple, esp. when followed by of with the names of animals or things.1364 in W. H. D. Longstaffe & J. Booth Halmota Prioratus Dunelmensis (1889) 31 j domum sufficientem de iij copuls.c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 1328 Al þe coples cipres were & þe raftres were al-so.c1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. vi. 163 Twenty cuppil he gave or ma, to þe body or þe kirk alsua.1572 J. Bossewell Wks. Armorie ii. f. 75 An house is neuer made perfecte, till these coples be put vpon it, by the maner of an heade.1659 T. Willsford Architectonice 12 At every joynt a collar-beam, fastned at their heads with a pin onely; these last by some are called the Arch-couples.1796 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XVII. 140 (Jam.) The oak couples were of a circular form, lined with wood.1868 G. MacDonald Robert Falconer I. 97 The other [room]..showing the naked couples from roof-tree to floor.1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. (at cited word) A ‘half-couple’ is a single main timber, such as would be used in a ‘lean-to’ roof.† 9. = couplet n. 1. Obsolete. rare.figurative.1887 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Sept. 293/1 The central ‘couple’, as the Mathematicians would call it, of the European balance.
4. A brace of dogs used for hunting, esp. harriers or spaniels; also, a brace of conies or rabbits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > sporting or hunting dog > brace of
couplec1430
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Lagomorpha (rabbits and hares) > [noun] > family Leporidae > genus Oryctolagus (rabbit) > brace of
couplec1430
c1430–50 Two Cookery-bks. CC. copull Conyngges.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur x. xiii. 434 A noyse as hit hadde ben a thyrtty couple of houndes.
1528 W. Capon Let. 26 Sept. in R. Fiddes Life Wolsey (1724) Collect. 130 He gave to us 6 cowple of conyes.
1632 Guillim's Display of Heraldrie (ed. 2) iii. xiv. 177 Skilfull Foresters..Doe vse to say, a Couple Of Rabbets, or Conyes.
1636 W. Denny in Ann. Dubrensia sig. Cv Then throwe they in their Couples, and one cry Of many Parkes doe ring about the Skie.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique Couple, in respect to Conies and Rabbets, the proper Term for two of them; so it is for two Hounds.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod i. i. 19 Two spaniels or harriers were called a couple.
5.
a. A man and woman united by love or marriage; a wedded or engaged pair.
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the mind > emotion > love > love affair > [noun] > pair of lovers
yleofa1000
ménagea1393
couple1393
twosomec1480
fleck and his make1529
coupling1961
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > [noun] > married people > married couple
couple1393
pairc1400
married couplea1625
happy couple1631
man and wife1749
Ozzie and Harriet1974
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xix. 224 The bible bereþ witnesse..Þat a-corsed alle couples þat no kynde forth brouhte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10168 To wijf he has dame anna tan,—Was suilk a cuple [Gött. coupil, Trin. Cambr. couple] neuer nan.
1436 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 107 Euery couple of man & wyf dwellyng at Ochecote.
?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors xxii. sig. F4v .iij. pound of euery hundreth, to be bestowyd vpon poore copyls at their maryages.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 40 I must Bestow vpon the eyes of this yong couple Some vanity of mine Art. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 339 Fair couple, linkt in happie nuptial League. View more context for this quotation
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 254. ⁋3 A very loving Couple.
1753 Scots Mag. Aug. 422/2 The happy couple who got the Dunstable bacon in 1751.
1847 R. W. Emerson Uses Great Men in Wks. (1906) I. 284 It is observed in old couples..who have been housemates for a course of years, that they grow alike.
1875 Mrs. Randolph Wild Hyacinth I. 43 Sir Loudoun would give up Glen Ettrick at once to the young couple.
b. A man and woman associated as partners in a dance or the like.
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the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > [noun] > of people
twosomec1480
brace1606
couple1759
duumvirate1771
Arcades ambo1821
duo1887
1759 Compl. Let.-writer (ed. 6) 226 I stood two couple above her.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. viii. 385 A merry country dance was going on..and new couples joined in every minute.
c1875 Routledge's Ball-room Guide 31 The Lancers must be danced by four couples only in each set.
6. Of animals:
a. A pair of opposite sexes.
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the world > animals > family unit > [noun] > pair or couple
couple1362
pairc1400
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. x. 169 Alle schulen dye for his dedes..Out-taken Eihte soules, and of vche beest a couple.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 333 Of vche best þat berez lyf busk þe a cupple.
b. Farming. A ewe and her lamb; double couple, a ewe with two lambs.
ΚΠ
a1722 E. Lisle in J. Britten Old Country & Farming Words (E.D.S.) (1880) Gloss. Observ. Husb. 59 Couples, ewes and lambs.
1855 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 16 ii. 295 200 ewes with their lambs, generally here [i.e. in Bucks.] called ‘couples’.
1882 Somerset Gaz. 18 Mar. 9 single couples and 1 double ditto of ewes and lambs.
7.
a. gen. Two individuals (persons, animals, or things) of the same sort taken together; sometimes used spec. of such as are paired or associated by some common function or relation; but often loosely, as a mere synonym for two. Cf. pair n.1 †couple of corn: apparently two quarters. All shades of gradation connect the strict sense (as in 1541) with the loosest (as in 1711).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > [noun]
pairc1300
couple1365
paira1382
gemels1382
pair1391
yokea1425
brace1430
binarya1464
match1542
twin1569
binity?1578
twoa1585
couplement1596
Gemini1602
couplet1604
twain1607
duad1660
dyad1675
duet1749
tway?a1800
doublet1816
two-group1901
two-grouping1901
coupling1961
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > fewness > [noun] > a small number of
some fewOE
puckleOE
a litec1290
couple1365
a…or twoa1400
handfulc1443
a wheen (of)1487
and odd1548
sprinkling1561
pair1611
scattering1628
sprinkle1754
1365 in W. H. D. Longstaffe & J. Booth Halmota Prioratus Dunelmensis (1889) 42 Ad emendum ij coppell' de silles cum les pannes.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 2002 Þer & þer a coupill gon to speke, & to roune.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 64 Tho gaf I hym a copel of maynchettis with swete butter.
1486 Bk. St. Albans F vj a A Couple or a payer of botillis.
1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII in R. Bolton Statutes Ireland (1621) 77 After the rate of fifteene shillings the couple of corne.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Judith xix. 3 A seruaunt and a couple of asses.
?1541 R. Copland Guy de Chauliac's Questyonary Cyrurgyens ii. sig. Eij Howe many cowples of sensityfe synewes come fro the brayne.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) Pref. to Rdr. Though they three do cost me a couple of hundred poundes by yeare.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. v. 30 A couple of as arrant knaues as any in Messina. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xiii. 6 Make me a couple of cakes. View more context for this quotation
1640 R. Brome Antipodes sig. Iv (stage direct.) These persons passe over the Stage in Couples.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 8. ⁋1 I shall here communicate to the World a couple of letters.
1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle Lands vii. 194 We spent a couple of hours resting and exploring the ruins.
1885 Law Times 80 111/1 The rule..has existed for at least a couple of centuries.
b. (With of omitted) = couple of (cf. coupla n.; U.S. colloquial).
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1876 C. H. Davis Narr. North Polar Exped. Ship Polaris vi. 163 A couple pounds of which we used last night making scouse.
1914 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald 1 May 8/3 St. Louis Louie and a couple other pitchmen wanted to commonwealth a Carnival company, Louie having a bankroll from selling 'scopes through the South.
1925 S. Lewis Martin Arrowsmith xvi. 188 A couple months in Italy.
1934 D. Hammett Thin Man xxii. 173 She touched me for a couple hundred to blow town.
1976 Fisher Strekfan's Gloss. 2 in Amer. Speech (1978) 53 54 Fan-run cons range from minicons with as few as a couple dozen people, to giganti-cons with 10,000 or more.
2000 R. Barger et al. Hell's Angel xiv. 242 They suggested I just go home for a couple days. Cool out and have a good time.
c. quasi-adj. a couple more (..), two more (colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > [adjective]
twainc725
twoa900
twaya950
dual1607
a couple more1961
1934 P. A. Taylor Sandbar Sinister vi. 92 ‘Just you hang on for a couple minutes more,’ Asey promised her.]
1961 ‘H. Stone’ Man who looked Death in Eye iii. 57 The crowd of curious onlookers gathered in the street and a couple more cops to hold them at a decent distance.
1965 A. Lurie Nowhere City xii. 123 I wonder if I could dictate a couple more letters then, while we wait?
1985 Washington Post 4 Jan. a13/4 It's going to be a couple more months..before we decide what to do.
d. With ellipsis of of drinks, of glasses, etc. colloquial.
ΚΠ
1933 ‘R. Keverne’ Menace xvi. 180 Stopped at the ‘Swan’ for a couple.
1934 H. M. Harwood Old Folks at Home i. i Liza (coldly): I said you had had a couple.
8. One of a pair of inclined rafters or beams, that meet at the top and are fixed at the bottom by a tie, and form the principal support of a roof; a principal rafter, a chevron.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > roof-beam > rafter > principal
couple1364
principal1445
lever1481
coupling1577
chevron1580
blade1855
Cf. c600 Isidore Orig. xix. xix. 6 Cuplæ [v.r. coplæ, complæ] vocatæ, quod copulent in se luctantes.]
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > part of poem > [noun] > stanza > couplet
couplec1330
distichc1560
coupleta1586
couplement1594
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 102 Sir Tristrem; ouer gestes it has þe steem..if men it sayd as made Thomas; But I here it no man so say, Þat of som copple som is away.
1423 Kingis Quair xxxiii All the gardyng and the wallis rong Ryght of thaire song, and on the copill next Off thaire suete armony.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. x. 70 By distick or couples of verses agreeing in one cadence.
10. Dynamics. A pair of equal and parallel forces acting in opposite directions, tending to produce a motion of rotation.
ΚΠ
1855 Peirce Anal. Mechanics 40 A couple of forces is a system of two parallel and equal forces which act in different lines.
1881 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism (ed. 2) II. 103 The moment of the couple with which terrestrial magnetism tends to turn the..magnet.
11. Geometry. (See quot. 1881.)
ΚΠ
1881 C. Taylor Anc. & Mod. Geom. Conics 257 If three or more pairs of points A, A′; B, B′; C, C′; etc. be taken on a straight line at such distances from a point O thereon that OA . OA′ = OB . OB′ = OC . OC′ = etc., they are said to constitute a system in Involution..the points (A, A′) (B, B′) (C, C′) etc., are called Conjugate Points or Couples of the involution.
12. A pair of connected plates of different metals, used for creating either a galvanic or a thermo-electric current.
ΚΠ
1863 J. Tyndall Heat (1870) i. App. 17 The figure represents what is called a thermo-electric pair or couple.
1863–72 H. Watts Dict. Chem. II. 415 The system of two dissimilar metals immersed in a liquid which acts on one of them is called a Galvanic or Voltaic Couple.
1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 240.
Categories »
13. Astronomy. A double star.
Compounds
couple-balk n. Scottish cf. sense 8 and balk n.1 11.
ΚΠ
1843 A. Bethune Sc. Peasant's Fire-side 113 The wooden frame~work of an old bed..was brought down from the couple-bauks of the barn.
couple-keep n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Couple-keep is often to be found in advertisements. It means a good crop of early grass fit for ewes and lambs, which must be well fed.
Draft additions June 2006
couples therapist n. a practitioner of couples therapy.
ΚΠ
1974 H. S. Kaplan New Sex Therapy xi. 189 The sex therapist must be an extremely skilled psychotherapist and couples therapist if he is to be successful.
2003 Shape May 52/2 If the frequency with which you have sex remains a source of tension.., consider seeing a couples therapist who can help you work out this issue.
Draft additions June 2006
couples therapy n. any form of therapy aimed at relieving problems in a sexual or domestic partnership; cf. marital therapy n. at marital adj. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1967 J. Haley & L. Hoffman Techniques Family Therapy iv. 282 The reason you took up couples therapy is because you got bored with individuals.
2000 Diva May 27/1 We had spent a fortune on couples therapy and, believe me, we really worked hard when we were in that room.
Draft additions June 2006
couple therapist n. = couples therapist n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1979 R. L. Shapiro & J. Zinner in W. G. Lawrence Exploring Individual & Organizational Boundaries xi. 160 There may be a perception of one of the therapists in family therapy which is dominated by his role as an individual or couple therapist.
2003 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 9 Feb. 3 l Make sure the couple therapist has formal training and experience.
Draft additions June 2006
couple therapy n. = couples therapy n. at Additions.
ΚΠ
1970 Amer. Jrnl. Orthopsychiatry 40 106 (title) Behavioral approaches to family and couple therapy.
2005 San Antonio (Texas) Express-News (Nexis) 17 Sept. 12 e The sex therapist may want to work with him alone at first, then eventually include couple therapy.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
couplev.
/ˈkʌpl/, U.S. /ˈkəp(ə)l/ 1. transitive. To tie or fasten (dogs) together in pairs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > hunt with hounds [verb (transitive)] > tie or fasten hounds
couplec1400
complec1440
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1139 Þenne þise cacheres þat couþe, cowpled hor houndeȝ, Vnclosed þe kenel dore & calde hem þer-oute.
c1440 Partonope 556 Mutes of hounds..Compled with Sylk [Fr. encoplés].
1486 Bk. St. Albans B iij b Cowple vp yowre houndys.
1602 2nd Pt. Returne from Pernassus (Arb.) ii. v. 32 The Huntsmen hallowed, so ho, Venue a coupler, and so coupled the dogges.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) Induct. i. 16 Couple Clowder with the deepe-mouth'd brach. View more context for this quotation
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 37. ⁋2 Tom. Bellfrey and Ringwood were coupled together..to be in at the Death of the Fox, Hare, or Stag.
1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany ix. 147 They [the dogs] were all coupled.
2. † b. To yoke (a horse or cart). Obsolete.
a. gen. To fasten or link together (sometimes spec. in pairs); to join or connect in any way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > join (together) [verb (transitive)] > couple or yoke together
couplec1330
twinc1394
yokea1400
accouple1548
conjugate1570
ingeminate1609
incouple1611
jugate1623
adjugate1730
wive1886
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 88 If it were made in ryme couwee..þat rede Inglis it ere inowe, þat couthe not haf coppled a kowe.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. v. 8 Wo that ioynen hous to hous, and feeld to feeld coupleth.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1865) I. 135 The superior Scythia is a grete region..coplede of the este parte to Ynde, of the northe to the occean.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xxiv. C These shalbe coupled together as prisoners be.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 43 With ane Capill and twa Creillis cuplit abufe.
1589 M. Philips in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 570 They bound our armes behind vs..coupling vs two and two together.
1665 T. Herbert Some Years Trav. (new ed.) 64 These [places] Ecbar coupled to the rest of his Empire.
1714 A. Pope Let. 13 July (1960) 64 That man..who is measuring syllables and coupling rhimes, when he should be mending his own soul.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in Posthumous Poems (1824) 339 I see my young lambs coupled two by two With willow bands.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > general equipment > [verb (transitive)] > harness or yoke
yokeOE
harness13..
cart-saddle1377
join1377
couple1393
enharness1490
benda1522
bind1535
span1550
team1552
spang1580
inyoke1595
trace1605
enclose?1615
gear1638
to get in1687
reharness1775
reyoke1813
to hook up1825
inspan1834
hitch1844
pole1846
stock1909
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > cart, carriage, or wagon > [verb (transitive)] > yoke (a horse, cart, or carriage)
join1377
couple1393
bind1535
to put in1709
to put to1732
to hook up1825
inspan1834
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. iii. 190 Let cople þe comissarie, oure cart shal he drawe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6220 His folk all armed did he call, And cuppel did his cartes all.
c. Organ-playing. To connect (two keys or keyboards) by means of a coupler. Also intransitive (of a key or keyboard) To admit of this connection.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > playing instruments > playing keyboard instrument > play keyboard instrument [verb (transitive)] > play organ > connect by coupler
couple1829
1829 Organ Specif. in G. Grove Dict. Music II. 599/1 Pedal to couple Swell to Great.
1880 Organ Specif. in G. Grove Dict. Music II. 601/2 When the Swell was coupled to the Great Manual.
d. Mechanics. To connect (railway carriages) by a coupling; to connect (the driving-wheels of a locomotive steam-engine) by a coupling-rod.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [verb (transitive)] > connect carriages or driving wheels
couple1841
to make up1864
1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 249/1 The two pair of wheels [of a locomotive engine] were coupled together by connecting rods.
1864 Law Times Rep. 10 719/1 Trucks..filled with ballast..were coupled together and carried away by an engine.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 466/1 Car-coupling, in Europe the connection is more intimate, the cars being coupled together so firmly as to prevent the jar as the cars collide or jerk apart in stopping or starting.
e. Photography. To connect a device (as a rangefinder, etc.) to the mechanism of a camera. Also intransitive, to be capable of being so connected.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > photograph [verb (transitive)] > adjust equipment
to stop down1892
couple1934
to wind on1947
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [verb (intransitive)] > be able to connect to mechanism
couple1958
1934 R. M. Fanstone Mod. Miniature Cameras ii. 7 This camera has automatic focussing by means of a range finder coupled to the focussing adjustment of the lens.
1935 W. Alexander Miniature Camera Guide p. i (advt.) Leica Model III. Automatically coupled range-finder focusing.
1939 Amer. Ann. Photogr. 1940 7/2 These new, small cameras were characterized by their versatility and built-in features, such as: range finders coupled to the lens and shutter assembly.
1958 Amateur Photographer 31 Dec. 8/3 (advt.) Rangefinder couples with all lenses.
1961 A. L. M. Sowerby Dict. Photogr. (ed. 19) Coupled exposure-meter, an exposure-meter the mechanism of which is linked to the controls adjusting stop and shutter-speed.
a. To join in wedlock or sexual union. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity with [verb (transitive)] > bring (couple) together for intercourse
beda1300
couplea1340
assemblec1386
minga1400
mixa1513
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)] > join in marriage
wedOE
join1297
spousec1325
bind1330
couplea1340
to put togethera1387
conjoin1447
accouple1548
matea1593
solemnize1592
espouse1599
faggot1607
noose1664
to give (also conjoin, join, take) in (also to, into) marriage1700
rivet1700
to tie the knot1718
buckle1724
unite1728
tack1732
wedlock1737
marry1749
splice1751
to turn off1759
to tie up1894
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter xviii. 5 God til mankynd as spouse til spouse is copild.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Lyf St. Wenefryde 2 I am coupled in matrimonye to the sone of the euerlastyng kyng.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iv. 41 Dame Mariory..Wes coupillyt in-to Goddis band With Walter stewart off Scotland.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 112 Borne of a woman that was carnally coupled vnto hym.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mark x. 9 Let not man therfore put asunder that which God hath coupled together.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xiii*v Yf any man doe allege any impediment why they maye not be coupled together in matrimonie.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. iii. 40 The Vicar of the next village..hath promis'd to..couple vs. View more context for this quotation
1726 J. Swift Let. to Pope 17 Nov. 369 To assist..in degrading a parson who couples all our beggars.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xviii. ix. 254 As eager for her Marriage with Jones, as he had before been to couple her to Blifil.
b. To espouse, marry. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > action or fact of marrying > marry [verb (transitive)]
bewedc1000
bespousec1175
wieldc1275
marrish1340
wedc1380
geta1393
takea1400
espouse?1435
marry1441
couplec1540
contract1599
to take on1611
consort?1615
to take to one's bosom1881
nuptial1887
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 12754 Clunestra at kirke couplit onone This Engest, with Jolite to hir iuste spouse.
c. To pair (animals).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > rear animals [verb (transitive)] > breed > put to for breeding
put?1523
to put to?1523
match1530
matea1593
submit1697
couple1721
breed1886
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 91 If a Sow of that Breed is Coupled with a Boar of the Cloven-footed kind.
a1754 H. Fielding Fathers (1778) v. v. 108 Wedding, directly! what, do you think you are coupling some of your animals in the country?
4. intransitive (for reflexive) . To unite with one of the opposite sex, come together sexually; to pair.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity [verb (intransitive)] > have sexual intercourse
playOE
to do (also work) one's kindc1225
bedc1315
couple1362
gendera1382
to go togetherc1390
to come togethera1398
meddlea1398
felterc1400
companya1425
swivec1440
japea1450
mellc1450
to have to do with (also mid, of, on)1474
engender1483
fuck?a1513
conversec1540
jostlec1540
confederate1557
coeate1576
jumble1582
mate1589
do1594
conjoin1597
grind1598
consortc1600
pair1603
to dance (a dance) between a pair of sheets1608
commix1610
cock1611
nibble1611
wap1611
bolstera1616
incorporate1622
truck1622
subagitate1623
occupya1626
minglec1630
copulate1632
fere1632
rut1637
joust1639
fanfreluche1653
carnalize1703
screw1725
pump1730
correspond1756
shag1770
hump1785
conjugate1790
diddle1879
to get some1889
fuckeec1890
jig-a-jig1896
perform1902
rabbit1919
jazz1920
sex1921
root1922
yentz1923
to make love1927
rock1931
mollock1932
to make (beautiful) music (together)1936
sleep1936
bang1937
lumber1938
to hop into bed (with)1951
to make out1951
ball1955
score1960
trick1965
to have it away1966
to roll in the hay1966
to get down1967
poontang1968
pork1968
shtup1969
shack1976
bonk1984
boink1985
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. x. 153 To kepe his cun from Caymes þat þei coupled not to-gedere.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Aivv He that wyth me fyrst coppled, tooke awaye My loue with hym.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 139 Begin these wood birds but to couple, now? View more context for this quotation
1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 61 in Sylva Furnish..your Aviarys with Birds before they couple.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd ii. 181 Cast wanton eyes on the daughters of men, And coupl'd with them, and begot a race. View more context for this quotation
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 96 They [sc. moles] couple towards the approach of spring.
1869 Ld. Tennyson Pelleas & Ettarre 526 Why then let men couple at once with wolves.
5. † c. to couple friendship: a Latinism. to couple a skirmish (cf. to join battle at join v.1 18a). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To associate or bring together (persons) in pairs, or as companions or partners; †formerly also, to match or engage as opponents in a contest.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > compete with [verb (transitive)] > set in competition
couple1362
comparison1382
matchc1440
commit1614
measure1720
pit1754
pitch1801
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > two > pair > arrange in pairs [verb (transitive)] > people
couple1362
pair1578
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. iv. 132 Clerkes þat were confessours coupled hem to-gedere Forte construe þis clause.
c1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 3596 Thai saw never under the hevyn Twa Knightes that war copled so evyn.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xvii. 392 Or ever they lefte eche other goo, whan they were cowpled ones togyder [wrestling].
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts ix. 26 He assayde to cople hym silfe with the apostles.
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries ii. 58 a Ihon Montiew, as he was coupled to the enemie, was slaine with an Harquebouze shott.
1684 T. Otway Atheist i. 7 When the rest of the Company is coupled.
1822 W. Wordsworth Latimer & Ridley in Eccl. Sonn. ii. xxxiv. See Latimer and Ridley in the might Of Faith stand coupled for a common flight!
b. To attach or unite by ties of affection, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > affection > [verb (transitive)] > join in sympathy or affection
couple1362
attach1621
wedge1629
bond1965
cleave1979
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. xi. 116 Ryd forþ bi Richesse..For ȝif þou couple þe to him, to Clergie comestou neuere.
c1430 Hymns Virg. (1867) 22 For euere loue coupliþ god to man.
1526 W. Tyndale Prol. to N.T. Prol. The spyrite of god, whych..copleth us to god.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxj Although the bodyes of these noble personages..were..a sonder seperated..yet their hartes were knitte and coupled in one.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxxvii. 1 I frenshipe couplede [a1425 L.V. Y haue couplid frenschip].
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries ii. 66 a A skirmishe beganne to be coupled betweene the Roiters of the Wood and the Roiters of the Enemie.
6. intransitive. To join or unite with another as a companion, to come together or associate in pairs; †to engage (with another) in a contest.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > compete with [verb (transitive)]
couple1477
envy1509
contend1577
counterscore1577
paragona1586
corrive1586
emulate1586
emule1595
corrival1601
vie1602
rival1607
vie1607
contesta1616
antagonize1634
cope with1651
to break a lance with1862
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 52 Ther was none so hardy that durst..cople with him.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxxijv The quene beyng therof asserteined, determined to couple [i.e. join battle] with hym while hys power was small and his ayde not come.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust II. i. iii. 26 They crowding come, I see already, Close coupling, or withdrawn unsteady.
7.
a. transitive. Of things immaterial: To connect, conjoin, link (one with or to another, or together). Sometimes regarded as restricted to connections between two things only.
ΚΠ
a1225 Leg. Kath. 1059 Þurh þet he wes soð godd, in his cunde icuplet wið ure.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. iii. 158 Clergye an Couetise heo [Meed] coupleþ to-gedere.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18804 He..þat cuppuld þus vr kind til his.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 236 Ye wrechyt dome, Yat is cowplyt to foule thyrldome.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Pet. iii. 2 Whill they beholde youre pure conversacion coupled with feare.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lxvii. 178 Hee hath coupled the substance of his fleshe and the substance of bread together.
1727 J. Gay Fables I. xii. 42 Av'rice..Must still be coupled with its cares.
1850 R. W. Emerson Montaigne in Representative Men iv. 164 Though a biblical plainness, coupled with a most uncanonical levity, may shut his pages to many sensitive readers, yet the offence is superficial.
1874 W. H. Dixon Hist. Two Queens III. xiii. x. 57 A man who coupled acts with words.
b. To conjoin in thought or speech.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fact or action of being joined or joining > fact or action of being connected or connecting > connect [verb (transitive)] > specifically in thought, speech, or writing
couplec1230
colligate1613
connect1678
tack1683
brace1826
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 42 Ysaie ueieð hope & silence & cupleð ba togederes.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 489 Neither did he so couple you to the Colledge of Philosophers, and Oratours.
1751 J. Jortin Serm. (1771) IV. i. 5 Theft and swearing are coupled together in the Prophet Zechariah.
1826 R. Southey Vindiciæ Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ 253 To this let me couple the just complaint of..Melchior Canus.
1866 C. E. L. Riddell Race for Wealth xxiii I wish you would not couple her name and mine together.
8. Physics. To bring about a coupling (sense 6f) between.
a. Said of oscillating systems. (Cf. coupling n. 6f(a).)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [verb (transitive)] > connect with mutual dependence
couple1893
match1929
1893 Proc. Royal Soc. 54 76 Its coils (coupled inductively) were connected in series with the non-inductive coils of the inactive ring.
1908 C. C. F. Monckton Radio-telegr. vi. 101 Where oscillations in one circuit set up oscillations in an adjacent circuit the two circuits are said to be coupled. If a considerable portion of the field of force of the first circuit is embraced by the second the coupling is fast; if only a small portion, the coupling is loose.
1915 A. F. Collins Bk. Wireless iii. iv. 143 When the open and closed circuits are coupled together they can be tuned to each other so that the electric oscillations in both circuits..have the same frequency.
1927 I. B. Crandall Theory Vibrating Syst. ii. 63 A very considerable change in natural frequencies..has been brought about by coupling to the heavy diaphragm a relatively light resonator system.
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors xiv. 341 The primary and secondary circuits are tuned separately to resonance at the same frequency and coupled together.
1965 H. J. J. Braddick Vibrations, Waves, & Diffraction i. 26 Two oscillators may be coupled in such a way that when one is vibrating, motion is transferred to the other.
b. Said of particles (electrons, atoms, etc.) and fields, and of mathematical quantities representing them. So to be coupled with = to interact with, to be influenced in (its) behaviour by. (Cf. coupling n. 6f(b).)
ΚΠ
1922 Chem. Abstr. 16 3033 The magnetic energy of the valence electron and of the atom body, coupled in the manner postulated.
1923 H. L. Brose tr. A. J. W. Sommerfeld Atomic Struct. & Spectral Lines vi. 406 An outer valence electron..and..the rest of the atom..are coupled together by the internal magnetic field.
1935 J. Dougall tr. M. Born Atomic Physics vii. 154 For every electron the orbital and spin moments are firmly coupled; but the various electrons influence each other comparatively little.
1959 B. I. Bleany & B. Bleaney Electr. & Magn. xx. 548 We need to know more about the mutual interactions between the various electrons... These can be expressed in the form of a set of rules for coupling together the angular momenta in forming the vector resultant.
1960 J. C. Slater Quantum Theory of Atomic Struct. I. x. 239 It was useful to postulate two vectors L and S, which could be coupled to give a vector J.
1966 C. S. G. Phillips & R. J. P. Williams Inorg. Chem. II. xxviii. 413 Spin-orbit coupling..tends to sustain orbital angular momentum by coupling it with spin angular momentum.
Derivatives
coupled adj.
ΚΠ
1927 E. G. Richardson Sound ii. 54 Owing to the assumption of the vibration by the air in the box the tone of the combined ‘coupled system’ is much more intense than that of the fork alone.
1944 A. Wood Physics of Music ii. 24 Two pendulums of unequal length suspended from a horizontal string…form a coupled system.
1968 C. G. Kuper Introd. Theory Superconductivity ix. 147 (caption) Coupled-harmonic-oscillator model for a lattice in two dimensions.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1320v.a1225- coffee-plant
- coffee-plantation
- coffee-planting
- coffee-pot
- coffee-powder
- coffee-rat
- coffee-roaster
- coffee-room
- coffee-sage
- coffee-set
- coffee-shrub
- coffee-stand
- coffee-tavern
- coffee-tea
- coffee-time
- coffee-tinted
- coffee-tree
- coffee-urn
- coffee-walk
- coffee-wit
- coffee-woman
- coffeebean
- coffeeberries
- coffeeberry
- coffeeberryes