linkage

Noun

linkage (countable and uncountable, plural linkages)

1. A mechanical device that connects things.
   • A linkage in my car's transmission is broken so I can't shift out of first gear.
2. A connection or relation between things or ideas.
   • Far from ignoring linkages between gays and the poor and working class, I specifically made the point that they are common victims of the bureaucratic revolution.1976 August 21, A. Nolder Gay, “Another View”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 8, page 4

   Synonyms:

   association, bond, connection, link, relationship

3. The act or result of linking: the combination of multiple object files into one executable, library, or object file.
4. The property of genes of being inherited together.
5. A set of definitely related languages for which no proto-language can be derived, typically a group of languages within a family that have formed a sprachbund.
6. (US, historical) A United States foreign policy, during the 1970s détente in the Cold War, of persuading the Soviet Union to co-operate in restraining revolutions in the Third World in return for nuclear and economic concessions.