What is "joint"

Joint \Joint\ (joint), n. [F. joint, fr. joindre, p. p. joint. See Join.]

1. The place or part where two things or parts are joined or united; the union of two or more smooth or even surfaces admitting of a close-fitting or junction; junction; as, a joint between two pieces of timber; a joint in a pipe.

2. A joining of two things or parts so as to admit of motion; an articulation, whether movable or not; a hinge; as, the knee joint; a node or joint of a stem; a ball and socket joint. See Articulation.

   A scaly gauntlet now, with joints of steel, Must glove this hand.
   --Shak.

   To tear thee joint by joint.
   --Milton.

3. The part or space included between two joints, knots, nodes, or articulations; as, a joint of cane or of a grass stem; a joint of the leg.

4. Any one of the large pieces of meat, as cut into portions by the butcher for roasting.

5. (Geol.) A plane of fracture, or divisional plane, of a rock transverse to the stratification.

6. (Arch.) The space between the adjacent surfaces of two bodies joined and held together, as by means of cement, mortar, etc.; as, a thin joint.

7. The means whereby the meeting surfaces of pieces in a structure are secured together.

8. [ Jag a notch.] A projecting or retreating part in something; any irregularity of line or surface, as in a wall. [Now Chiefly U. S.]

9. (Theaters) A narrow piece of scenery used to join together two flats or wings of an interior setting.

10. a disreputable establishment, or a place of low resort, as for smoking opium; -- also used for a commercial establishment, implying a less than impeccable reputation, but often in jest; as, talking about a high-class joint is an oxymoron. [Slang]

11. a marijuana cigarette. [Slang]

12. prison; -- used with ``the''. [Slang] `` he spent five years in the joint.'' Coursing joint (Masonry), the mortar joint between two courses of bricks or stones. Fish joint, Miter joint, Universal joint, etc. See under Fish, Miter, etc. Joint bolt, a bolt for fastening two pieces, as of wood, one endwise to the other, having a nut embedded in one of the pieces. Joint chair (Railroad), the chair that supports the ends of abutting rails. Joint coupling, a universal joint for coupling shafting. See under Universal. Joint hinge, a hinge having long leaves; a strap hinge. Joint splice, a re["e]nforce at a joint, to sustain the parts in their true relation. Joint stool.

    1. A stool consisting of jointed parts; a folding stool.
       --Shak.

    2. A block for supporting the end of a piece at a joint; a joint chair.

       Out of joint, out of place; dislocated, as when the head of a bone slips from its socket; hence, not working well together; disordered. ``The time is out of joint.''
       --Shak.

Joint \Joint\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Jointed; p. pr. & vb. n. Jointing.]

1. To unite by a joint or joints; to fit together; to prepare so as to fit together; as, to joint boards.

   Pierced through the yielding planks of jointed wood.
   --Pope.

2. To join; to connect; to unite; to combine.

   Jointing their force 'gainst C[ae]sar.
   --Shak.

3. To provide with a joint or joints; to articulate.

   The fingers are jointed together for motion.
   --Ray.

4. To separate the joints; of; to divide at the joint or joints; to disjoint; to cut up into joints, as meat. ``He joints the neck.''
   --Dryden.

   Quartering, jointing, seething, and roasting.
   --Holland.

Joint \Joint\, v. i. To fit as if by joints; to coalesce as joints do; as, the stones joint, neatly.

Joint \Joint\ (joint), a. [F., p. p. of joindre. See Join.]

1. Joined; united; combined; concerted; as, joint action.

2. Involving the united activity of two or more; done or produced by two or more working together.

   I read this joint effusion twice over.
   --T. Hook.

3. United, joined, or sharing with another or with others; not solitary in interest or action; holding in common with an associate, or with associates; acting together; as, joint heir; joint creditor; a joint bank account; joint debtor, etc. ``Joint tenants of the world.''
   --Donne.

4. Shared by, or affecting two or more; held in common; as, joint property; a joint bond.

   A joint burden laid upon us all.
   --Shak.

   Joint committee (Parliamentary Practice), a committee composed of members of the two houses of a legislative body, for the appointment of which concurrent resolutions of the two houses are necessary.
   --Cushing.

   Joint meeting, or Joint session, the meeting or session of two distinct bodies as one; as, a joint meeting of committees representing different corporations; a joint session of both branches of a State legislature to chose a United States senator. ``Such joint meeting shall not be dissolved until the electoral votes are all counted and the result declared.''
   --Joint Rules of Congress, U. S.

   Joint resolution (Parliamentary Practice), a resolution adopted concurrently by the two branches of a legislative body. ``By the constitution of the United States and the rules of the two houses, no absolute distinction is made between bills and joint resolutions.''
   --Barclay (Digest).

   Joint rule (Parliamentary Practice), a rule of proceeding adopted by the concurrent action of both branches of a legislative assembly. ``Resolved, by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), that the sixteenth and seventeenth joint rules be suspended for the remainder of the session.''
   --Journal H. of R., U. S.

   Joint and several (Law), a phrase signifying that the debt, credit, obligation, etc., to which it is applied is held in such a way that the parties in interest are engaged both together and individually thus a joint and several debt is one for which all the debtors may be sued together or either of them individually; used especially in the phrase joint and several liability.

   Joint stock, stock held in company.

   Joint-stock company (Law), a species of partnership, consisting generally of a large number of members, having a capital divided, or agreed to be divided, into shares, the shares owned by any member being usually transferable without the consent of the rest.

   Joint tenancy (Law), a tenure by two or more persons of estate by unity of interest, title, time, and possession, under which the survivor takes the whole.
   --Blackstone.

   Joint tenant (Law), one who holds an estate by joint tenancy. Contrassted with tenant in common.

early 15c., "united," from Old French jointiz (adj.) and joint, literally "joined," past participle of joindre (see join (v.)).

late 13c., "a part of a body where two bones meet and move in contact with one another," from Old French joint "joint of the body" (12c.), from Latin iunctus "united, connected, associated," past participle of iungere "join" (see jugular). Related: Joints. Slang meaning of "place, building, establishment" (especially one where persons meet for shady activities) first recorded 1877, American English, from an earlier Anglo-Irish sense (1821), perhaps on the notion of a side-room, one "joined" to a main room. The original U.S. sense was especially of "an opium-smoking den."\n

\nMeaning "marijuana cigarette" (1938) is perhaps from notion of something often smoked in common, but there are other possibilities; earlier joint in drug slang meant "hypodermic outfit" (1935). Meaning "prison" is attested from 1953 but probably is older. Out of joint in the figurative sense is from early 15c. (literally, of bone displacement, late 14c.).

1. Done by two or more people or organisations working together. n. 1 The point where two components of a structure join, but are still able to rotate. 2 The point where two components of a structure join rigidly. 3 (context anatomy English) Any part of the body where two bones join, in most cases allowing that part of the body to be bent or straightened. 4 The means of securing together the meeting surfaces of components of a structure. 5 A cut of meat. 6 The part or space included between two joints, knots, nodes, or articulations. 7 (context geology English) A fracture in which the strata are not offset; a geologic joint. 8 (context originally slang English) A restaurant, bar, nightclub or similar business. 9 (context slang English) (''always with "the"'') prison 10 (context slang English) A marijuana cigarette. v

2. 1 (context transitive English) To unite by a joint or joints; to fit together; to prepare so as to fit together 2 (context transitive English) To join; to connect; to unite; to combine. 3 (context transitive English) To provide with a joint or joints; to articulate. 4 (context transitive English) To separate the joints; of; to divide at the joint or joints; to disjoint; to cut up into joints, as meat. 5 (context intransitive English) To fit as if by joints; to coalesce as joints do.

1. adj. united or combined; "a joint session of Congress"; "joint owners" [ant: separate]

2. affecting or involving two or more; "joint income-tax return"; "joint ownership"

3. involving both houses of a legislature; "a joint session of Congress"

1. v. fit as if by joints; "The boards fit neatly"

2. provide with a joint; "the carpenter jointed two pieces of wood" [syn: articulate]

3. fasten with a joint

4. separate (meat) at the joint

1. n. (anatomy) the point of connection between two bones or elements of a skeleton (especially if the articulation allows motion) [syn: articulation, articulatio]

2. a disreputable place of entertainment

3. the shape or manner in which things come together and a connection is made [syn: articulation, join, juncture, junction]

4. a piece of meat roasted or for roasting and of a size for slicing into more than one portion [syn: roast]

5. junction by which parts or objects are joined together

6. marijuana leaves rolled into a cigarette for smoking [syn: marijuana cigarette, reefer, stick, spliff]

A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones in the body. They are constructed to allow for different degrees and types of movement. Sutures between the bones of the skull permit very little movement. The connection between a tooth and the jawbone is also called a joint, and is described as a fibrous joint known as a gomphosis. Joints are classified both structurally and functionally.

Joint is a location where two bones make contact.

Joint may also refer to:

A building joint is a junction where building elements meet without applying a static load from one element to another. When one or more of these vertical or horizontal elements that meet are required by the local building code to have a fire-resistance rating, the resulting opening that makes up the joint must be firestopped in order to restore the required compartmentalisation.

In audio engineering, joint refers to a joining of several channels of similar information in order to obtain higher quality, a smaller file size, or both.

thumb|A rock in Abisko fractured along existing joints possibly by mechanical frost weathering

A joint is a break ( fracture) of natural origin in the continuity of either a layer or body of rock that lacks any visible or measurable movement parallel to the surface (plane) of the fracture. Although they can occur singly, they most frequently occur as joint sets and systems. A joint set is a family of parallel, evenly spaced joints that can be identified through mapping and analysis of the orientations, spacing, and physical properties. A joint system consists of two or more intersecting joint sets. The distinction between joints and faults hinges on the terms visible or measurable which depends on the scale of observation. Faults differ from joints in that they exhibit visible or measurable lateral movement between the opposite surfaces of the fracture. As a result, a joint may have been created by either strict movement of a rock layer or body perpendicular to the fracture or by varying degrees of lateral displacement parallel to the surface (plane) of the fracture that remains “invisible” at the scale of observation.

Joints are among the most universal geologic structures as they are found in most every exposure of rock. They vary greatly in appearance, dimensions, and arrangement, and occur in quite different tectonic environments. Often, the specific origin of the stresses that created certain joints and associated joint sets can be quite ambiguous, unclear, and sometimes controversial. The most prominent joints occur in the most well-consolidated, lithified, and highly competent rocks, such as sandstone, limestone, quartzite, and granite. Joints may be open fractures or filled by various materials. Joints, which are infilled by precipitated minerals are called veins and joints filled by solidified magma are called dikes.

"Joint", stylized as "JOINT", is the fifth maxi single by Japanese J-pop artist Mami Kawada, with both its A-side and B-side featured in her 2008 Savia album. It contains four tracks in both regular and instrumental versions and spans 17:40. Both its A-side and B-side tracks are featured as opening and ending themes for the second season of the anime series Shakugan no Shana. Geneon Entertainment released the single on October 31, 2007 in both a regular CD release and a limited CD and DVD that featured the music video for the track "Joint" bearing the catalog numbers GNCA-86 and GNCA-85 respectively.

A joint is a rolled marijuana cigarette. Unlike commercial tobacco cigarettes, joints are ordinarily hand-rolled by the user with rolling papers, though in some cases they are machine-rolled. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium in industrialized countries; however, brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, beedis with the tobacco removed, receipts, and newspaper can also be used, particularly in developing countries. Modern papers are manufactured in a range of sizes from a wide variety of materials including rice, hemp, and flax, and are also available in liquorice and other flavoured varieties.

A joint can vary in size, typically containing between net weight of cannabis. Tobacco may or may not be used in the rolling process.