cohesion

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act, process, or condition of cohering: exhibited strong cohesion in the family unit.
2. n. Physics The intermolecular attraction by which the elements of a body are held together.
3. n. Botany The congenital union of parts of the same kind, such as a calyx of five united sepals.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. The act or state of cohering, uniting, or sticking together; specifically, in physical, the state in which, or the force by which, the molecules of the same material are bound together, so as to form a continuous homogeneous mass. This force acts sensibly at insensible distances—that is, when the particles of matter which it unites are placed in apparent contact. At insensible distances it is a much greater, at sensible distances a much smaller, force than gravitation, so that it does not follow the law of variation of the latter. It unites the particles of a homogeneous body, and is thus distinguished from adhesion, which takes place between the molecules of different masses or substances, as between fluids and solids, and from chemical attraction, which unites the atoms of a molecule together. The power of cohesion in a body is estimated by the force necessary to pull its parts asunder. In general, cohesion is most powerful among the particles of solid bodies, weaker among those of fluids, and least of all, or entirely wanting, in elastic fluids, as air and gases. Hardness, softness, tenacity, elasticity, malleability, ductility, and in crystallized bodies cleavage, are to be considered properties dependent upon cohesion. The most powerful influence which tends to diminish cohesion is heat, as shown in the change of a solid to a liquid, or of a liquid to a gas, which is effected by it. See gas and liquid.
2. n. In botany, the congenital union of one part with another. If the parts are similar, as two stamens, their union is specifically called coalescence; if dissimilar, as calyx and ovary, it is styled adnation.
3. n. Connection; dependence; affinity; coherence.

Wiktionary

1. n. State of cohering, or of working together.
2. n. physics, chemistry Various intermolecular forces that hold solids and liquids together.
3. n. biology Growing together of normally distinct parts of a plant.
4. n. computing Degree to which different modules in a computing system are functionally dependent on others.
5. n. linguistics Grammatical or lexical relationship between different parts of the same text.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act or state of sticking together; close union.
2. n. (Physics) That from of attraction by which the particles of a body are united throughout the mass, whether like or unlike; -- distinguished from adhesion, which unites bodies by their adjacent surfaces.
3. n. Logical agreement and dependence.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. (botany) the process in some plants of parts growing together that are usually separate (such as petals)
2. n. the state of cohering or sticking together
3. n. (physics) the intermolecular force that holds together the molecules in a solid or liquid