couple English · revision 3524

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1300|origins=la cōpula}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkʌp.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|couple]], [[bor|fro|cople|t=married couple, lovers]] (modern [[m|fr|couple]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[la|cōpula|t=tie, connection, bond]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) from [[m|la|*co-apula]], formed from [[m|la|co-|t=together]] and the base of [[m|la|apere|t=to fasten]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(COED 2004) Etymonline traces it to [[ine-pro|*ko-ap-]], from [[m|ine-pro|*ap-|t=to take, reach]].^(Etymonline) The verb is from Old French [[m|fro|copler|t=to join together]], from Latin [[m|la|cōpulāre]].^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) It is a doublet of [[copula]], and related to [[copulate]] and [[couplet]].^(Klein 1966)^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A man and woman united by love or marriage: before 1300^(OED 1989) or about 1280.^(Barnhart 1988) The verb, “to link, connect”, is from about 1200.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Two things of the same kind considered together is from 1338,^(Barnhart 1988) or the mid-14th century.^(Etymonline) A leash for two hounds is from about 1340,^(OED 1989) and the verb “to tie dogs together in pairs” from the same time.^(OED 1989) “To unite in marriage” is from the mid-14th century, and “to copulate” from about 1400.^(Etymonline) ''A couple of'', “a few”, is a later loose use.^(AHD) In mechanics, a pair of equal and opposite forces is a ''couple'', and in electricity a pair of plates of different metals from 1863.^(Etymonline) To join railway carriages is from 1841.^(OED 1989) The adjective, as in ''a couple more'', is from 1924.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1200 – verb, to link.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1280 – a married couple.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1338 – a pair of things.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1340 – a leash for two hounds.^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-14th century – verb, to marry.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1400 – verb, to copulate.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1841 – verb, to join railway carriages.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1863 – an electric couple.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1924 – adjective, two or a few.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Two things of the same kind; a [[pair]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Two people united, as by marriage, or together.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(a couple of)'' A few; several.^(AHD)

+ # Something that joins two things; a link.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # ''(physics)'' A pair of equal forces acting in parallel but opposite directions.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To link together; to connect.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # To join in marriage or sexual union.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # To form pairs.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(informal)'' Two or a few: ''a couple more''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[coupledom]]

+ * [[coupleable]]

+ * [[intercouple]]

+ * [[thermocouple]]

+ * [[couple-close]]

+ * [[coupling]]

+ * [[decouple]]

+ * [[uncouple]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[copula]]

+ * [[copulate]]

+ * [[couplet]]

+ * [[apt]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The American Heritage Dictionary notes that ''couple'', of two people, takes a singular or plural verb depending on whether they are considered individually or as a unit, and compares it with ''pair'', ''brace'' and ''yoke''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}