Brunnian link

noun

A nontrivial link that becomes a set of trivial unlinked circles if any one component is removed. In other words, cutting any loop frees all the other loops.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounBrunnian link (plural Brunnian links)

plural Brunnian links

  1. mathematicsA nontrivial link that becomes a set of trivial unlinked circles if any one component is removed. In other words, cutting any loop frees all the other loops.

Origin

Named after Hermann Brunn, whose 1892 article Über Verkettung included examples of such links.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Brunnian link. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brunnian%20link

MLA

“Brunnian link.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brunnian%20link. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Brunnian link,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Brunnian%20link.

Source: Brunnian link on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.