A Chain Is Also an Exact Unit of Length
A chain is a series of connected links. It is also a surveyor's measure of 22 yards, which is why a cricket pitch is that long.
A chain is a series of connected metal links, and by extension any connected sequence. It is also a precise old unit: the surveyor's chain of 22 yards, or 66 feet. That number is not arbitrary in daily life — a cricket pitch is exactly one chain long, and ten square chains make an acre. The unit was fixed by Edmund Gunter in the early 1600s so that land could be measured in a decimal-friendly way.
- Connected links. *A gold chain.*
- A sequence. *A chain of events.*
- A group of shops. *A hotel chain.*
- A unit of 22 yards. *One chain long.*
- Chain reaction — a self-sustaining sequence. *A chain reaction.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | chain | A heavy chain. |
| Plural | chains | Rusty chains. |
| Verb | chain | Chain the gate. |
| Adjective | chained | A chained door. |
| Compound | chainsaw | A chainsaw. |
- A chain of events led to the delay.Sequence.
- A cricket pitch is one chain long.The unit.
- The property is stuck in a chain.British house buying.
The surveyor's chain
- One chain — 22 yards, or 66 feet
- Ten chains — one furlong
- Eighty chains — one mile
- Ten square chains — one acre
- Cricket pitch — exactly one chain between the wickets
Old French *chaine*, from Latin *catena*, a chain. The surveying unit is named after Edmund Gunter, who standardised it around 1620.
How long is a chain?
Twenty-two yards, or sixty-six feet. It is the length of a cricket pitch and one tenth of a furlong.
What is a chain in house buying?
In Britain, a sequence of buyers and sellers whose purchases each depend on the one before. One failure breaks the chain.