Chain (?), n. [F.
chaîne, fr. L. catena. Cf. Catenate.]
1. A series of links or rings, usually of
metal, connected, or fitted into one another, used for various
purposes, as of support, of restraint, of ornament, of the
exertion and transmission of mechanical power, etc.
[They] put a chain of gold about his
neck.
Dan. v. 29.
2. That which confines, fetters, or
secures, as a chain; a bond; as, the chains of
habit.
Driven down
To chains of darkness and the undying worm.
Milton.
3. A series of things linked together; or
a series of things connected and following each other in
succession; as, a chain of mountains; a chain of
events or ideas.
4. (Surv.) An instrument which
consists of links and is used in measuring land.
☞ One commonly in use is Gunter's chain, which
consists of one hundred links, each link being seven inches and
ninety-two one hundredths in length; making up the total length
of rods, or sixty-six, feet; hence, a measure of that length;
hence, also, a unit for land measure equal to four rods square,
or one tenth of an acre.
5. pl. (Naut.) Iron links
bolted to the side of a vessel to bold the dead-eyes connected
with the shrouds; also, the channels.
6. (Weaving) The warp threads of a
web. Knight.
Chain belt (Mach.), a belt made
of a chain; -- used for transmitting power. -- Chain
boat, a boat fitted up for recovering lost cables,
anchors, etc. -- Chain bolt
(a) (Naut.) The bolt at the lower end
of the chain plate, which fastens it to the vessel's side.
(b) A bolt with a chain attached for drawing
it out of position. -- Chain bond. See
Chain timber. -- Chain bridge,
a bridge supported by chain cables; a suspension bridge.
-- Chain cable, a cable made of iron
links. -- Chain coral (Zoöl.),
a fossil coral of the genus Halysites, common in the
middle and upper Silurian rocks. The tubular corallites are
united side by side in groups, looking in an end view like links
of a chain. When perfect, the calicles show twelve septa. --
Chain coupling. (a) A
shackle for uniting lengths of chain, or connecting a chain with
an object. (b) (Railroad)
Supplementary coupling together of cars with a chain. --
Chain gang, a gang of convicts chained
together. -- Chain hook (Naut.),
a hook, used for dragging cables about the deck. --
Chain mail, flexible, defensive armor of
hammered metal links wrought into the form of a garment. --
Chain molding (Arch.), a form of
molding in imitation of a chain, used in the Normal style. -
- Chain pier, a pier suspended by
chain. -- Chain pipe (Naut.),
an opening in the deck, lined with iron, through which the
cable is passed into the lockers or tiers. -- Chain
plate (Shipbuilding), one of the iron plates
or bands, on a vessel's side, to which the standing rigging is
fastened. -- Chain pulley, a pulley
with depressions in the periphery of its wheel, or projections
from it, made to fit the links of a chain. -- Chain
pumps. See in the Vocabulary. -- Chain
rule (Arith.), a theorem for solving
numerical problems by composition of ratios, or compound
proportion, by which, when several ratios of equality are given,
the consequent of each being the same as the antecedent of the
next, the relation between the first antecedent and the last
consequent is discovered. -- Chain shot
(Mil.), two cannon balls united by a shot chain,
formerly used in naval warfare on account of their destructive
effect on a ship's rigging. -- Chain
stitch. See in the Vocabulary. --
Chain timber. (Arch.) See Bond
timber, under Bond. -- Chain
wales. (Naut.) Same as Channels.
-- Chain wheel. See in the Vocabulary.
-- Closed chain, Open chain
(Chem.), terms applied to the chemical structure of
compounds whose rational formulæ are written respectively
in the form of a closed ring (see Benzene nucleus, under
Benzene), or in an open extended form. --
Endless chain, a chain whose ends have been
united by a link.