English
Etymology
He. �פ� ( caw-phal ) : two of something, double. dates to biblical period
OF. cople
L. copula
Pronunciation
audio|en-us-couple.ogg|Audio (US)
audio|en-uk-couple.ogg|Audio (UK)
Noun
en-noun
- Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.
#: Joe and Amy make a nice couple.
- Two of the same kind connected or considered together (see Usage notes).
#: They look like a couple of idiots!
- A small number of (see Usage notes) Informal.
#: Let me have a couple of slices of pepperoni.
- One of the pairs of plates of two metals which compose a voltaic battery, called a voltaic couple or galvanic couple.
- physics Two rotations, movements, etc., that are equal in amount but opposite in direction, and acting along parallel lines or around parallel axis|axes.
Usage notes
In U.K. usage, couple is followed by of when used to mean "two", as in "a couple of people". In US usage, of is often omitted, as in "I went there a couple times".
In the U.S., "a couple of things" or people may be used to mean two of them, but it is also often used to mean any small number. The latter usage is disputed.
In the U.K., "a couple of" almost always means just two
Synonyms
(two partners):
(two things of the same kind): brace, pair
(a small number of): few, handful
Translations
trans-top|two partners
Catalan: parella
Chinese:
:Mandarin: zh-ts|夫婦|夫� (fūfù), zh-ts|��|�对 (yìduì), zh-ts|��|�� (yìshu�ng)
Dutch: koppel n, paar n, duo n
Esperanto: paro, duo
Finnish: pari, pariskunta
French: couple m, paire f, epoux m|p (a couple formed of a husband and wife)
German: Paar n
Hebrew: ��� romanization of Hebrew|zúg m
Ido: duo, paro
Italian: coppia f
trans-mid
Japanese: ���� (kappuru)
Portuguese: casal
Russian: па�а f, �е�а f (for married couples)
Scottish Gaelic: dithis m|f, cà raid f
Slovene: par m
Spanish: pareja f
Swedish: ett par
trans-bottom
trans-top|two of the same kind considered together
Chinese:
:Mandarin: zh-ts|��|�对 (yìduì)
Dutch: paar n, koppel n
Esperanto: paro
French: paire f
German: Paar n
Hebrew: ��� romanization of Hebrew|zúg m
Italian: coppia f, paio m
trans-mid
Japanese:
Portuguese: dupla
Russian: па�а f
Slovene: par m
Spanish: par m
trans-bottom
trans-top|a small number of
Chinese:
:Mandarin: zh-ts|å¹¾å��|å� 个 (jÇ�gè)
Dutch: paar n, koppel n
Esperanto: kelkaj ...
Finnish: pari (following noun in partitive)
French: quelques ...
German: einige, ein paar
Hebrew: �ע� romanization of Hebrew|me'át' m
Italian: paio m
trans-mid
Portuguese: poucos, alguns
Russian: па�а f
Spanish: un par de, unos
Swedish: ett par
trans-bottom
trans-top|one of the pair of plates in a voltaic battery
Japanese: ����(kappuru), �対
trans-mid
Russian: пол�� m
trans-bottom
trans-top|two rotations, movements, etc., equal in amount but opposite in direction
Dutch: koppel n
trans-mid
Japanese: ��(�����,gūryoku)
trans-bottom
Verb
en-verb|coupl|ing
- transitive To join two things together.
#: Now the conductor will couple the train cars.
Translations
trans-top|to join two things together
Chinese:
:Mandarin: zh-ts|��|�� (liánji�)
Dutch: koppelen
Hebrew: ���ר romanization of Hebrew|lekhabér, ���� romanization of Hebrew|leakhéd
Ido: kuplar
Italian: agganciare
trans-mid
Spanish: acoplar
trans-bottom
Derived terms
couple-close
galvanic couple
voltaic couple
French
Pronunciation
w:IPA|IPA: /kupl/
w:SAMPA|SAMPA: /kupl/
audio|fr-fr-couple.ogg|Audio (France)
Noun
couple m
- Two partners in a romantic or sexual relationship.
#: Jean et Amélie forment un joli couple.
Related terms
couplage
coupler
ar:couple
et:couple
fr:couple
io:couple
it:couple
ku:couple
hu:couple
pl:couple
ru:couple
simple:couple
fi:couple
ta:couple
te:couple
vi:couple
zh:couple
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