ETYM French couple, from Latin copula a bond, band; co- + apere, aptum, to join. Related to Art, Copula.
1. Two items of the same kind; SYN. doubleton, pair, twosome, twain, brace, span, yoke, couplet, distich, duo, duet, dyad, duad.
2. A pair who associate with one another; SYN. twosome, duo, duet.
3. A pair of people who live together; SYN. mates, match.
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4. A small indefinite number.
5. Something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines.
In mechanics, a pair of forces acting on an object that are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, but do not act along the same straight line. The two forces produce a turning effect or moment that tends to rotate the object; however, no single resultant (unbalanced) force is produced and so the object is not moved from one position to another.
The moment of a couple is the product of the magnitude of either of the two forces and the perpendicular distance between those forces. If the magnitude of the force is F newtons and the distance is d meters then the moment, in newton-meters, is given by.
Moment = Fd.
ETYM French paire, Late Lat. paria, Latin paria, pl. of par pair, from par, adj, equal. Related to Apparel, Par equality, Peer an equal.
(Homonym: pare, pear).
1. A poker hand with 2 cards of the same value.
2. A set of two similar things considered as a unit; SYN. brace.
3. Two people considered as a unit.