con-
English
Alternative forms
Etymology 1
From Middle English con-, from Latin con-, from cum (“with”).
Prefix
con-
- Unite: to unite into a collection indicated by the root word.
- concorporate is united into a single body, conglobulate is to collect together into a globule, conglutination is to glue together into a glutination
- Together: the root is done together.
- conarticular is that articulates together, conjubilant is rejoicing together, consubsistence is subsistence together
- Having commonality, having the same property indicated by the root.
- confocal is having the same foci, consimilar is having similarities in common, conterminant is having the same termination
- Belonging to the same group indicated by the root.
- confamilial is belonging to the same taxonomic family, contypic is relating to the same type, conspecific is relating to the same species
- Synchronous or simultaneous with the root.
- connascent is born together, concreate is to create at the same time, congeneration is simultaneous generation (as of heat and light from the same action)
- A fellow kind of the root.
- concitizen is a fellow citizen, condisciple is a fellow disciple, concelebrant is one who concelebrates
- To do the root.
- Intensifying the root.
- congenial is very genial, connatural is inherent (very natural), convicinity is immediate vicinity (very close)
- Intensifying the root.
- Indicating a common origin:
- Found with. What is found with the root.
- consalazinic acid is a lichen acid found together with salazinic acid, conphaseolin is a protein found with phaseolin, connegative is a verb form used with a negative verb in certain languages
- From, coming from the root.
- consequence as what comes from the sequence, convicine is a glycoside coming from vicine, connatal is an anomaly present at birth
- Found with. What is found with the root.
- When one entity is put into another, or one entity affects the other.
- conplastic is produced by introducing the genetic material from one strain into the cytoplasm of another; contour is a speech sound which behaves as a single segment, but which makes an internal transition from one quality, place, or manner to another; converb is a verb with a stressed, separable prefix
- Mutuality, indicating a reciprocal relationship or influence
- confraternization is mutual fraternization, confated is fated with something else, connascence is a relationship between two or more elements of software in which changing one necessitates changing the others in order to maintain overall correctness
- To surround or adorn with
- constrict is to coil around prey in order to asphyxiate it, constellate is to adorn with constellations
- Uniform, or made to be the same as.
- concolorate is having a uniform colour
Usage notes
Con- becomes
- col- before l: collaborate;
- com- before b, m, and p: combat, commit, compel;
- cor- before r: correlation;
It can also appear as co- before a vowel: coexistence, cosine.
Translations
Etymology 2
Back-formation from conlang, short for "constructed language".
Prefix
con-
- attached to certain words to obtain new, informal, subcultural words in which con- conveys a notion of:
- constructed, artificial
- hypothetical, fictional
- related to conlangs, conworlds, etc.
Derived terms
Dutch
Etymology
Ultimately from Latin con-. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔn/
Audio (file)
Derived terms
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔ̃/
Usage notes
Behaves as it does in English; see English usage notes.
Gaulish
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *kom- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm. Cognate with Old Irish com-, Welsh cyf-, Breton kev- or kem-.
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kon/
- Hyphenation: con-
Latin
Etymology
From the preposition cum (“with”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /kon/, [kɔn]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /kon/, [kon]
Prefix
con-
- Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects
- Used in compounds to indicate the completeness, perfecting of any act, and thus gives intensity to the signification of the simple word
Usage notes
- Before vowels and h, the prefix becomes co-, or rarely com-. Excluded are i and u when these represent /j/ and /w/.
- Before b, m and p, the prefix becomes com-.
- Before l, the prefix becomes col-.
- Before r, the prefix becomes cor-.
- Before n, the prefix becomes cō- (or remains con-, in Late Latin).
- Before original gn, the prefix becomes co- and gn is not reduced to n.
As usual in Latin phonology, the sequences ons and onf are pronounced with nasalised long vowels, and the vowel is written with a macron, i.e. cōnspīrō and cōnferō.
Derived terms
References
- “con-”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
Middle English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Borrowed from Old French con- and Latin con-.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kɔn-/, /kun-/
Derived terms
References
- “con-, cǒn-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kon/ [kõn]
- Syllabification: con-
Usage notes
- Before the letters b or p use the form com-. Sometimes the co- form is used instead.
Further reading
- “con-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014