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Where does the word "link" come from? It comes from Old Norse hlenkr, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
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Where does the word "link" come from? It comes from Old Norse hlenkr, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).
Link’s story begins in Old Norse: hlenkr meant “a chain ring.” A ring or loop of a chain. It reached English by 1400s as link. Settled as the English word for a connecting ring or bond. Today, link means a connection between two things, or a single ring of a chain.
- Stage 1 · Old Norse · medieval hlenkr "a chain ring", a ring or loop of a chain.
- Stage 2 · English · 1400s link "a connecting ring, or a bond between things", settled as the English word for a connecting ring or bond.