Coupled

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈkʌpəld/

Definitions

1. Joined or linked to another thing physically or conceptually ; paired with another person or entity in a relationship or partnership
2. Connected together in a way that combines or associates them ; matched or joined with someone else as partners or companions
3. Combined or attached to form a unit or group ; united with another individual in an emotional, social, or professional relationship

Etymology: "Coupled" is the past tense and past participle of "couple," so its history is really the history of the verb. The noun it grew from entered Middle English from Old French "couple," which in turn came from Latin "copula," meaning a bond, tie or link. That Latin word is also the source of "copula," a doublet pair of English words that took separate routes into the language, with the Latin form retained in grammar and logic for the linking element of a sentence. The Latin root tells the whole story: a couple is something tied or fastened together. The original sense was physical, a link or a tether that held two things at once, and the notion of two people paired up grew naturally from that idea of joining. So a "coupled" pair of dancers, or a pair of railway carriages, both carry the same image of two things fastened to each other, with the abstract sense of partnership built on the concrete one.

Synonyms: joined, connected, linked

Antonyms: separated, disconnected