# linkage

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈlɪŋkɪdʒ/ · frequency rank #24,224

## Definitions
1. A mechanical device that connects things.
2. A connection or relation between things or ideas.
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. 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.

## Etymology
From link + -age.

## Easily confused with
- **lineage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lineage-vs-linkage)
- **leakage** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/leakage-vs-linkage)
- **lineages** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/lineages-vs-linkage)

## Common misspellings (10)
`ilnkage`, `liknage`, `linakge`, `linkaeg`, `linkagge`, `linkgae`, `linkkage`, `linnkage`, `llinkage`, `lnikage`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/linkage