chain

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
chain/tʃeɪn/

▶noun

• 1 a connected flexible series of metal links used for fastening, pulling, etc., or in jewellery.

  ■ a restricting force or factor.

• 2 a sequence of items of the same type forming a line.

  ■ a series of connected things: a chain of events.

  ■ a group of hotels, shops, or restaurants owned by the same company.

  ■ a part of a molecule consisting of a number of atoms bonded together in a linear sequence.

• 3 a jointed measuring line consisting of linked metal rods.

  ■ the length of this (66 ft).

• 4 (chains) a structure projecting horizontally from a sailing ship's sides abreast of the masts, used to widen the basis for the shrouds.

▶verb fasten, secure, or confine with a chain.

– origin ME: from OFr. chaine, chaeine, from L. catena ‘a chain’.