From Middle English linke, lenke, from a merger of Old English hlenċe, hlenċa (“ring; chainlink”) and Old Norse *hlenkr, hlekkr (“ring; chain”); both from Proto-Germanic *hlankiz (“ring; bond; fettle; fetter”). Used in English since the 14th century.

Etymology. From Middle English serchen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sercher, Old French cerchier, from Late Latin circō, circāre (“to circle; go around; search for”), from Latin circa, circus.

Links is ultimately derived from the Old English word hlincas, the plural of hlinc, meaning "ridge," and teed off in 15th-century Scottish English as a name for sandy, hilly terrain.

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