nexus

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The Word of the Day for October 1 is:

nexus   \NEK-sus\   noun
    *1 : connection, link; also : a causal link 
      2 : a connected group or series 
      3 : center, focus 

Example sentence: 
     The scientific study uncovered a nexus between unhealthy 
eating habits and certain forms of heart disease.

Did you know? 
     "Nexus" is all about connections. The word comes 
from "nectere," a Latin verb meaning "to bind." A number of 
other English words are related to "nectere." The most obvious 
is "connect," but "annex" (meaning "to attach as an addition," 
or more specifically "to incorporate into a political domain") 
is related as well. When "nexus" came into English in the 17th 
century, it meant "connection." Eventually, it took on the 
additional meaning "connected series" (as in "a nexus of 
relationships"). In the past few decades it has taken a third 
meaning: "center" (as in "the trade nexus of the region"), 
perhaps from the notion that a point in the center of an 
arrangement serves to join together the objects that surround 
it.  

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.