Unlinks

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To separate items that were previously connected or linked together
2. To remove hyperlinks or connections between digital elements or nodes
3. To break physical or conceptual chains that join different entities or ideas

Etymology: "Unlinks" is simply the third-person singular present form of the verb "unlink," so its history is that of the verb itself. "Unlink" is formed from the prefix "un-," meaning to reverse or undo an action, attached to "link." The prefix is an Old English inheritance, descended from the same ancient root as the word "on" (in the Old English form "on," which also appeared as "and" in earlier Germanic), so the reversing sense of "un-" is a native English feature rather than a borrowing. "Link" itself is the older word here, and it is the one that carries the sense of a joined ring or connection. "Unlink" simply takes that connecting sense and runs it backward, so to unlink something is to take apart the joins that bind it. The meaning now stretches from literal chains and rings to figurative ties between people, systems, or ideas.

Synonyms: disconnects, detaches, separates, disengages, uncouples

Antonyms: links, connects, joins, attaches, couples