couplés

Couplés is the plural form used in French to refer to things that have been joined or paired. As an adjective, couplé means “coupled” or “paired”; as a noun, a couplé can denote a unit formed by coupling. The word derives from the verb coupler, to join or connect, and is used across technical, scientific, and everyday language to indicate a relationship or pairing.

In general and technical usage, the term describes paired components or systems where two elements interact closely. This can occur in engineering, where couplés refer to linked parts of a mechanism, or in physics and electronics, where coupled devices exchange energy or information. In biology or animal husbandry, couplés can describe breeding pairs—two individuals selected to mate or that are kept together for propagation.

In the realm of betting on horse racing and similar sports, un couplé is a type of wager on two horses to finish among the top two. Variants differ on whether the order of finish matters. A couplé may require the two horses to occupy the first two places in exact order, or it may pay out when they occupy the top two places in any order, depending on the rules of the specific betting market.

Beyond these contexts, the term remains a general label for paired or joined entities, with usage varying by discipline. See also coupling, coupler, and coupling concepts in related fields.