chain Look up chain at Dictionary.com
c.1300, from O.Fr. chaeine, from L. catena "chain," from PIE base *kat- "to twist, twine." The verb is attested from late 14c. Chain of stores is Amer.Eng., 1846. Chain letter first recorded 1906.
"In 1896, Miss Audrey Griffin, of Hurstville, New South Wales initiated a 'chain letter' with the object of obtaining 1,000,000 used postage stamps." ["Daily Chronicle," July 27, 1906]