con-

See also: con, Con, CON, cón, còn, cồn, cōn, and cơn

English

Alternative forms

• com-

Etymology 1

From Middle English con-, from Latin con-, from cum (“with”).

Prefix

con-

1. (non-productive) used with certain words to add a notion similar to those conveyed by with, together, or joint

   congenial, congregation, console, consonant, construct, converge, etc.

2. (non-productive) used with certain words to intensify their meaning

   confirm

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-: coexistence, cosine.

Translations

to add a notion similar to those conveyed by with, together, or joint

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 並- (bing⁶), 共- (gung⁶)

• Middle English: con-

• Norwegian: kon-
• Swedish: kon- (sv)

Etymology 2

Back-formation from conlang, short for "constructed language".

Prefix

con-

1. attached to certain words to obtain new, informal, subcultural words in which con- conveys a notion of:
   1. constructed, artificial
   2. hypothetical, fictional
   3. related to conlangs, conworlds, etc.

Derived terms

• conculture
• conlang, conlanger, conlanging, conlangistan
• conperson, conpeople
• conreligion
• conscript, con-script
• consociety
• conworld

 

Derived terms

English words prefixed with con-

Anagrams

• CNO, NCO, NOC, OCN, ONC, onc

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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)

Prefix

con-

1. con- (1)

Derived terms

Dutch words prefixed with con-

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French

Etymology

From Latin con-, from cum (“with”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃/

Prefix

con-

1. con-

Usage notes

Behaves as it does in English; see English usage notes.

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Gallo

Etymology

From Latin con-, from cum (“with”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɔ̃]

Prefix

con-

1. con- (1)

Synonyms

• com-, qem-, qen-

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Gaulish

Alternative forms

• co-, com-

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kom- (“with, together”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm. Cognate with Old Irish com-, Welsh cyf-, Breton kev- or kem-.

Prefix

con-

1. con- (1)

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Italian

Alternative forms

• co-

Etymology

From Latin con-, from cum (“with”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kon/
• Hyphenation: con-

Prefix

con-

1. con- (1)

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Latin

Etymology

From the preposition cum (“with”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kon/, [kɔn]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kon/, [kɔn]

Prefix

con-

1. Used in compounds to indicate a being or bringing together of several objects

   coeō, colloquor, convīvor, etc.: colligō, compōnō, condō, etc.

2. Used in compounds to indicate the completeness, perfecting of any act, and thus gives intensity to the signification of the simple word

   commaculō, commendō, concitō, comminuō, concerpō, concīdō, convellō, etc.

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

Latin words prefixed with con-

References

• con- in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• com-

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French con- and Latin con-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔn-/, /kun-/

Prefix

con-

1. (non-productive) con- (with)

Usage notes

• This prefix frequently has reduced or no semantic force.

Derived terms

Middle English words prefixed with con-

Descendants

• English: con-
• Scots: con-

References

• “con-, cǒn-, pref.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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Spanish

Alternative forms

• co-, com-

Etymology

From Latin con-, from cum (“with”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kon/, [kõn]

Prefix

con-

1. with

Usage notes

Before the letters b or p use the form com-. Sometimes the co- form is used instead.

Derived terms

Spanish words prefixed with con-

• conjuntar

Further reading

• “con-” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.