English Explanatory Dictionary

colon

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩.
  2. The triangular colon (especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon).
  3. A rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.
  4. A clause or group of clauses written as a line, or taken as a standard of measure in ancient manuscripts or texts.
noun
  1. Part of the large intestine; the final segment of the digestive system, after (distal to) the ileum and before (proximal to) the rectum. (Because the colon is the largest part of the large intestine (constituting most of it), it is often treated as synonymous therewith in broad or casual usage.)
noun
  1. A husbandman.
  2. A European colonial settler, especially in a French colony.
name
  1. A surname.

Pronunciation

/ˈkəʊ.lən/ /ˈkəʊ.lɒn/ kō'lən /ˈkoʊ.lən/ /ˈkɔ.lən/ [ˈkʰɔ.ɫn̩] en-us-colon.ogg /kəˈlɒn/ /kəˈloʊn/

Word forms

colon colons cola coli colone

Etymology

From Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”).

Synonyms

colon-point

Related words

apostrophe curly brackets brace square bracket bracket comma dash ellipsis exclamation mark fraction slash guillemet hyphen interpunct interrobang parentheses (US Canada) full stop period question mark quotation marks semicolon slash stroke space bowel large intestine rectum

Derived words

colon-point dicolon semicolon tricolon ascending colon colectomy colic coliform colitis colocolonic colon cleansing colonectomy colon hydrotherapy colonic colonic irrigation colonitis colonocyte colonogenic colonogram colonography colonoid colonopathy colonoscope colonoscopy colon therapy colostomy colovaginoplasty descending colon dolichocolon hemicolon microcolon midcolon pneumocolon redundant colon sigmoid colon spastic colon transverse colon
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