Sticking together strongly; forming a unified whole where all the parts work well together.
From Latin 'cohaerere' combining 'co-' (together) and 'haerere' (to stick), meaning literally 'to stick together.' The English adjective 'cohesive' developed in the 1600s, originally used in physics to describe materials that stuck together.
The word 'cohesive' comes from the physical idea of things literally sticking together—and scientists still use it that way to describe materials, while we also use it for groups of people who stick together as a team.
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