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couple - 6 dictionary results
cou⋅ple
[kuhp-uh
l]
noun, verb, -pled, -pling.–noun
| 1. | two of the same sort considered together; pair. |
| 2. | two persons considered as joined together, as a married or engaged pair, lovers, or dance partners: They make a handsome couple. |
| 3. | any two persons considered together. |
| 4. | Mechanics. a pair of equal, parallel forces acting in opposite directions and tending to produce rotation. |
| 5. | Also called couple-close. Carpentry. a pair of rafters connected by a tie beam or collar beam. |
| 6. | a leash for holding two hounds together. |
| 7. | Fox Hunting. two hounds: 25 hounds or 12 1/2 couple. |
–verb (used with object)
| 8. | to fasten, link, or associate together in a pair or pairs. |
| 9. | to join; connect. |
| 10. | to unite in marriage or in sexual union. |
| 11. | Electricity.
|
–verb (used without object)
—Idiom| 12. | to join in a pair; unite. |
| 13. | to copulate. |
| 14. | a couple of, more than two, but not many, of; a small number of; a few: It will take a couple of days for the package to get there. Also, a couple. |
Origin:
1175–1225; (n.) ME < AF c(o)uple, OF cople, cuple < L cōpula a tie, bond (see copula ); (v.) ME couplen < AF co(u)pler, OF copler, cupler < L copulāre (see copulate )
1175–1225; (n.) ME < AF c(o)uple, OF cople, cuple < L cōpula a tie, bond (see copula ); (v.) ME couplen < AF co(u)pler, OF copler, cupler < L copulāre (see copulate )

Related forms:
cou⋅ple⋅a⋅ble, adjective
Usage note:
The phrase a couple of has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase a couple, without of (The gas station is a couple miles from here), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech. Without a following noun, the phrase is highly informal: Jack shouldn't drive. I think he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.)
In referring to two people, couple, like many collective nouns, may take either a singular or a plural verb. Most commonly, it is construed as a plural: The couple were traveling to Texas. See also collective noun.
The phrase a couple of has been in standard use for centuries, especially with measurements of time and distance and in referring to amounts of money: They walked a couple of miles in silence. Repairs will probably cost a couple of hundred dollars. The phrase is used in all but the most formal speech and writing. The shortened phrase a couple, without of (The gas station is a couple miles from here), is an Americanism of recent development that occurs chiefly in informal speech or representations of speech. Without a following noun, the phrase is highly informal: Jack shouldn't drive. I think he's had a couple. (Here the noun drinks is omitted.)
In referring to two people, couple, like many collective nouns, may take either a singular or a plural verb. Most commonly, it is construed as a plural: The couple were traveling to Texas. See also collective noun.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To couple
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Couple
Cou"ple\ (k?p"'l), n. [F. couple, fr. L. copula a bond, band; co- + apere, aptum, to join. See Art, a., and cf. Copula.]1. That which joins or links two things together; a bond or tie; a coupler. [Obs.] It is in some sort with friends as it is with dogs in couples; they should be of the same size and humor. --L'Estrange. I'll go in couples with her. --Shak. 2. Two of the same kind connected or considered together; a pair; a brace. "A couple of shepherds." --Sir P. Sidney. "A couple of drops" --Addison. "A couple of miles." --Dickens. "A couple of weeks." --Carlyle. Adding one to one we have the complex idea of a couple. --Locke. [Ziba] met him with a couple of asses saddled. --2 Sam. xvi. 1. 3. A male and female associated together; esp., a man and woman who are married or betrothed. Such were our couple, man and wife. --Lloyd. Fair couple linked in happy, nuptial league. --Milton. 4. (Arch.) See Couple-close. 5. (Elec.) One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery; -- called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple. 6. (Mech.) Two rotations, movements, etc., which are equal in amount but opposite in direction, and acting along parallel lines or around parallel axes. Note: The effect of a couple of forces is to produce a rotation. A couple of rotations is equivalent to a motion of translation.Couple
Cou"ple\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Coupled (k?p"'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Coupling (-l?ng).] [F. coupler, fr. L. copulare. See Couple, n., and cf. Copulate, Cobble, v.]1. To link or tie, as one thing to another; to connect or fasten together; to join. Huntsman, I charge thee, tender well my hounds, . . . And couple Clowder with the deep-mouthed brach. --Shak. 2. To join in wedlock; to marry. [Colloq.] A parson who couples all our beggars. --Swift.Couple
Cou"ple\, v. i. To come together as male and female; to copulate. [Obs.] --Milton. Bacon.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : couple
Spanish:
un par; unos cuantos, unas cuantas; unos pocos, unas pocas,
German:
ein paar,
Japanese:
いくつか
couple
c.1280, from O.Fr. cople "married couple, lovers," from L. copula "tie, connection," from PIE *ko-ap-, from *ko(m)- "together" + *ap- "to take, reach." Meaning broadened 14c. to "any two things." The verb is from c.1340. Poetic couplet, a dim. form, first attested 1580.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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