- Congreve
- in reference to rockets or matches, from Sir William Congreve (1772-1828).
- congruence (n.)
- mid-15c., from Latin congruentia "agreement, harmony, congruity," from congruentem (nominative congruens), present participle of congruere "to come together" (see congruent). Related: Congruency.
- congruent (adj.)
- early 15c., "suitable, proper," from Latin congruentem (nominative congruens) "agreeing, fit, suitable," present participle of congruere, literally "to come together, agree, correspond with," from com- "with" (see com-) + a lost verb *gruere, *ruere "fall, rush," perhaps from PIE *ghrei- "to rub, grind" (see chrism). Geometry sense attested by 1706.
- congruity (n.)
- late 14c., from Old French congruité "relevance, appropriateness," from Late Latin congruitatem (nominative congruens) "agreement," from congruus (see congruent).
- congruous (adj.)
- c.1600, from Latin stem congru- (see congruent) + -ous.
- conic (adj.)
- 1560s, "pertaining to a cone," from Latin conicus, from Greek konikos "cone-shaped," from konos (see cone).
- conical (adj.)
- 1560s, "pertaining to a cone," also "having the shape of a cone," from conic + -al (1).
- conifer (n.)
- 1851, from Latin conifer "cone-bearing, bearing conical fruit," from conus "cone" (see cone) + ferre "to bear" (see infer).
- coniferous (adj.)
- 1660s, from conifer + -ous.
- conject (v.)
- late 14c., obsolete verb replaced by conjecture (v.). Also in form congette.
- conjectural (adj.)
- 1550s, from Latin conjecturalis "belonging to conjecture," from conjectura (see conjecture). Related: Conjecturally (mid-15c.).
- conjecture (n.)
- late 14c., "interpretation of signs and omens," from Old French conjecture "surmise, guess," or directly from Latin coniectura "conclusion, interpretation, guess, inference," literally "a casting together (of facts, etc.)," from coniectus, past participle of conicere "to throw together," from com- "together" (see com-) + iacere "to throw" (see jet (v.)). Sense of "forming of opinion without proof" is 1530s.
- conjecture (v.)
- early 15c., from conjecture (n.). In Middle English also with a parallel conjecte (n.), conjecten (v.). Related: Conjectured; conjecturing.
- conjoin (v.)
- late 14c., from Old French conjoindre "meet, come together" (12c.), from Latin coniungere "to join together," from com- "together" (see com-) + iungere "join" (see jugular). Related: Conjoined, conjoining.
- conjoint (adj.)
- late 14c., from Middle French conjoint, past participle of conjoindre (see conjoin). Related: Conjointly (early 14c.).
- conjugal (adj.)
- 1540s, from Middle French conjugal (13c.), from Latin coniugalis "relating to marriage," from coniunx (genitive coniugis) "spouse," related to coniugare "to join together," from com- "together" (see com-) + iugare "to join," from iugum "yoke" (see jugular).
- conjugate (v.)
- 1520s, in grammatical sense; 1560s in literal sense, from Latin coniugatus, past participle of coniugare "to yoke together" (see conjugal). Earlier as an adjective (late 15c.). Related: Conjugated; conjugating.
- conjugation (n.)
- mid-15c., from Latin conjugationem (nominative conjugatio) "a combining, connecting," noun of action from conjugare "to join together" (see conjugal). Grammatical sense is 1520s.
- conjunct (adj.)
- mid-15c., from Latin coniunctus, past participle of coniugare (see conjugal). A doublet of conjoint.
- conjunction (n.)
- late 14c., originally of planets, from Old French conjonction "union, joining, sexual intercourse" (12c.), from Latin coniunctionem (nominative coniunctio), from past participle stem of coniugare "join together" (see conjugal). Cf. Italian congiunzione, Spanish conjunción. Grammatical sense (late 14c.) was in Latin, a loan-translation of Greek syndesmos. The word also had the meaning "sexual union" 17c.-18c.
- conjunctiva (n.)
- 1540s, medical Latin, short for membrana conjunctiva "conjunctive membrane" (see conjunctive).
- conjunctive (adj.)
- late 15c., from Latin coniunctivus "serving to connect," from coniunctus, past participle of coniungere (see conjoin). Grammatical sense is from 1660s.
- conjunctivitis (n.)
- 1835, inflammation of the conjunctiva; from conjunctiva + -itis.
- conjuncture (n.)
- c.1600, from French conjoncture (16c.), from Modern Latin *conjunctura, from Latin coniunctus (see conjunct).
- conjuration (n.)
- late 14c., coniuracioun, "conspiracy" (now obsolete), also "a calling upon something supernatural," from Old French conjuracion "spell, incantation, formula used in exorcism," from Latin coniurationem (nominative coniuratio) "a swearing together, conspiracy," noun of action from coniurare (see conjure).
- conjure (v.)
- late 13c., "command on oath," from Old French conjurer "invoke, conjure" (12c.), from Latin coniurare "to swear together; conspire," from com- "together" (see com-) + iurare "to swear" (see jury (n.)). Magical sense is c.1300, for "constraining by spell" a demon to do one's bidding. Related: Conjured; conjuring. Phrase conjure up "cause to appear in the mind" (as if by magic) attested from 1580s.
- conjurer (n.)
- late 14c., from Anglo-French conjurour, Old French conjureur "conjurer, magician, exorcist," from Latin coniurator, from coniurare (see conjure).
- conk (v.)
- as in conk out, 1918, coined by World War I airmen, perhaps in imitation of the sound of a stalling motor, reinforced by conk (v.) "hit on the head," originally "punch in the nose" (1821), from conk (n.), slang for "nose" (1812), perhaps from fancied resemblance to a conch (pronounced "conk") shell.
- conker (n.)
- "snail shell," also "horse chestnut," from children's game of conkers (q.v.).
- conkers (n.)
- "child's game played with horse chestnuts," originally with snail shells, 1847, probably a variant of conquer. The goal was to break the other player's item by hitting it with yours.
- connate (adj.)
- 1640s, from Late Latin connatus "born together, twins," past participle of connasci "to be born together," from com- "together" (see com-) + nasci "to be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Related: Connation.
- connect (v.)
- mid-15c., from Latin conectere "join together" (see connection). Displaced 16c. by connex (1540s), from Middle French connexer, from Latin *connexare, a supposed frequentative of conectere (past participle stem connex-). Connect was re-established 1670s.
A similar change took place in French, where connexer was superseded by connecter. Meaning "to establish a relationship" (with) is from 1881. Slang meaning "get in touch with" is attested by 1926, from telephone connections. Meaning "awaken meaningful emotions, establish rapport" is from 1942. Of a hit or blow, "to reach the target," from c.1920. Related: Connected; connecting; connectedness. - Connecticut
- U.S. state, originally the name of the river, said to be from Mohican (Algonquian) quinnitukqut "at the long tidal river," from *kwen- "long" + *-ehtekw "tidal river" + *-enk "place."
- connection (n.)
- late 14c., conneccion, later connexioun (mid-15c.), from Old French connexion, from Latin connexionem (nominative connexio) "a binding or joining together," from *connexare, frequentative of conectere "to fasten together, to tie, join together," from com- "together" (see com-) + nectere "to bind, tie" (see nexus).
Spelling shifted from connexion to connection (especially in American English) mid-18c. under influence of connect, abetted by affection, direction, etc. - connective (adj.)
- 1650s, from connect + -ive (if from Latin, it likely would have been *connexive). Connective tissue is from 1839.
- connectivity (n.)
- 1893, from connective + -ity.
- connector (n.)
- 1795, "tube for connecting other materials," agent noun in Latin form from connect and usefully distinct from connecter.
- connexion (n.)
- see connection.
- conniption (n.)
- 1833, American English, origin uncertain; perhaps related to corruption, which was used in a sense of "anger" from 1799, or from English dialectal canapshus "ill-tempered, captious," probably a corruption of captious.
- connivance (n.)
- the main modern form of connivence (q.v.).
- connive (v.)
- c.1600, from Latin connivere, also conivere "to wink," hence, "to wink at (a crime), be secretly privy," from com- "together" (see com-) + base akin to nictare "to wink," from PIE root *kneigwh- (see nictitate). Related: Connived; conniving.
- connivence (n.)
- 1590s, from Latin conniventia, from conniventem (nominative connivens), present participle of connivere (see connive). Spelling with -a- prevailed after early 18c., but is not etymological.
- connivent (adj.)
- 1640s, from Latin conniventem (nominative connivens), present participle of connivere (see connive).
- conniving (adj.)
- 1783, present participle adjective from connive. Earlier in this sense was connivent.
- connoisseur (n.)
- 1714, from French connoisseur (Modern French connaiseur), from Old French conoisseor "an expert, a judge, one well-versed," from conoistre "to know," from Latin cognoscere "to know, to become well-acquainted with," from com- "with" (see com-) + gnoscere "recognize" (see notice (v.)).
- Connor
- masc. proper name, little used in U.S. before 1980; in the top 100 names given to boys from 1992; apparently an alteration and appropriation of the surname Conner (13c.), representing Old English cunnere "examiner, inspector" (e.g. ale-conner (see con (n.2)).
- connotate (v.)
- 1590s, from Medieval Latin connotatus, past participle of connotare (see connote). Obsolete; replaced by connote.
- connotation (n.)
- 1530s, from Medieval Latin connotationem (nominative connotatio), from connotat-, past participle stem of connotare "signify in addition to the main meaning," a term in logic, literally "to mark along with," from Latin com- "together" (see com-) + notare "to mark" (see note).
A word denotes its primary meaning, its barest adequate definition -- father denotes "one that has begotten." A word connotes the attributes commonly associated with it -- father connotes "male sex, prior existence, greater experience, affection, guidance." - connote (v.)
- 1660s, from Medieval Latin connotare "to mark along with," (see connotation). A common word in medieval logic. Related: Connoted; connoting.
- connubial (adj.)
- 1650s, from Latin connubialis, variant of conubialis "pertaining to wedlock," from conubium "marriage," from com- "together" (see com-) + nubere "to wed" (see nuptial).