links
/lɪŋks
/plural noun (also golf links) [treated as singular or plural]
1A golf course, especially one on grass-covered sandy ground near the sea: a couple of days' golf on a sunny Spanish links...
- They're right about our courses looking like cemeteries and parks rather than golf links.
- Designed in the 1950s, it retains some quirky detailing from that era and offers views of the sea as well as the clubhouse, greens and fairway of the nearby golf links.
- The magnificent 18 th-century mansion is set in private landscaped grounds at the edge of the town, opposite the golf links and West Sands but totally screened by trees, woods and 18-foot high lodge gates.
1.1 another term for linksland.
Origin
Old English hlinc 'rising ground', perhaps related to lean1.
This word used commonly in golf contexts was first found as hlinc meaning ‘rising ground’; it is perhaps related to lean. Links in Scottish use describes gently undulating sandy ground near the sea-shore covered with turf or coarse grass, which gave us the golfing sense. It is unconnected to the singular link (Late Middle English) which was originally a loop, and comes from Old Norse hlekkr.