[cheyn] 
| 1. | a series of objects connected one after the other, usually in the form of a series of metal rings passing through one another, used either for various purposes requiring a flexible tie with high tensile strength, as for hauling, supporting, or confining, or in various ornamental and decorative forms. |
| 2. | Often, chains. something that binds or restrains; bond: the chain of timidity; the chains of loyalty. |
| 3. | chains,
|
| 4. | a series of things connected or following in succession: a chain of events. |
| 5. | a range of mountains. |
| 6. | a number of similar establishments, as banks, theaters, or hotels, under one ownership or management. |
| 7. | Chemistry. two or more atoms of the same element, usually carbon, attached as in a chain. Compare ring 1 (def. 17). |
| 8. | Surveying, Civil Engineering.
|
| 9. | Mathematics. totally ordered set. |
| 10. | Football. a chain 10 yd. (9 m) in length for determining whether a first down has been earned. |
| 11. | to fasten or secure with a chain: to chain a dog to a post. |
| 12. | to confine or restrain: His work chained him to his desk. |
| 13. | Surveying. to measure (a distance on the ground) with a chain or tape. |
| 14. | Computers. to link (related items, as records in a file or portions of a program) together, esp. so that items can be run in sequence. |
| 15. | to make (a chain stitch or series of chain stitches), as in crocheting. |
| 16. | to form or make a chain. |
| 17. | drag the chain, Australian Slang. to lag behind or shirk one's fair share of work. |
| 18. | in the chains, Nautical. standing outboard on the channels or in some similar place to heave the lead to take soundings. |
[cheyn] | Sir Ernst Boris [urnst, ernst] , 1906–79, English biochemist, born in Germany: Nobel prize for medicine 1945. |
| a set in which a relation, as “less than or equal to,” holds for all pairs of elements of the set. |
chain (chān)  (click for larger image in new window) n.
[Middle English chaine, from Old French, from Latin catēna.] |
| Chain (chān) German-born British biochemist. He isolated and purified penicillin; for this achievement he shared a 1945 Nobel Prize with Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin in 1928. |
chain(saw)
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chain(-smoke)
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"In 1896, Miss Audrey Griffin, of Hurstville, New South Wales initiated a 'chain letter' with the object of obtaining 1,000,000 used postage stamps." ["Daily Chronicle," July 27, 1906]
chain (chān)
n.
A group of atoms covalently bonded in a spatial configuration like links in a chain.
A linear arrangement of living things such as cells or bacteria.
Chain (chān), Ernst Boris. 1906-1979.
German-born British biochemist. He shared a 1945 Nobel Prize for isolating and purifying penicillin, discovered in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming.
chain
1.
Compare with the more modern "subshell".
2.
3.
x0 <= x1 <= x2 ...
A chain satisfies:
for all x,y in S, x <= y \/ y <= x.
I.e. any two elements of a chain are related.
("<=" is written in LaTeX as sqsubseteq).
[The Jargon File]
(1995-02-03)
Chain
(1.) A part of the insignia of office. A chain of gold was placed about Joseph's neck (Gen. 41:42); and one was promised to Daniel (5:7). It is used as a symbol of sovereignty (Ezek. 16:11). The breast-plate of the high-priest was fastened to the ephod by golden chains (Ex. 39:17, 21). (2.) It was used as an ornament (Prov. 1:9; Cant. 1:10). The Midianites adorned the necks of their camels with chains (Judg. 8:21, 26). (3.) Chains were also used as fetters wherewith prisoners were bound (Judg. 16:21; 2 Sam. 3:34; 2 Kings 25:7; Jer. 39:7). Paul was in this manner bound to a Roman soldier (Acts 28:20; Eph. 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:16). Sometimes, for the sake of greater security, the prisoner was attached by two chains to two soldiers, as in the case of Peter (Acts 12:6).
chain
In addition to the idioms beginning with chain, also see ball and chain; pull someone's chain.
