noun, feminine/ʃɛn/plural: chaînes
chain; channel; warp; hi-fi or stereo system; character string
“La chaîne est trop courte, nous n'y arriverons pas.” — The chain is too short, we aren't reaching it.
Inherited from Middle French chaisne, from Old French chaene, chaiene, caiene, inherited from Latin catēna. Doublet of cadène and catène. The long vowel derives from the Old French hiatus; by analogy the length was expressed with a silent -s- in Middle French, which was then replaced with the circumflex.