colon
pronunciation
How to pronounce colon in British English:
UK [ˈkəʊlən]
How to pronounce colon in American English:
US [ˈkoʊlən]
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- Noun:
- the part of the large intestine between the cecum and the rectum; it extracts moisture from food residues before they are excreted
- the basic unit of money in El Salvador; equal to 100 centavos
- the basic unit of money in Costa Rica; equal to 100 centimos
- a punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)
Word Origin
- colon
- colon: There are two distinct words colon in English. Colon ‘part of the large intestine’ [16] comes via Latin from Greek kólon, which meant ‘food, meat’ as well as ‘large intestine’. Colon the punctuation mark [16] comes via Latin from Greek kōlon, which originally meant literally ‘limb’. It was applied metaphorically (rather like foot) to a ‘unit of verse’, and hence to a ‘clause’ in general, meanings which survive in English as technical terms. From there it was a short step to the main present-day meaning, ‘punctuation mark’.
- colon (n.1)
- punctuation mark, 1540s, from Latin colon "part of a poem," from Greek kolon (with a long initial -o-) "part of a verse," literally "limb, member" (especially the leg, but also of a tree limb), also, figuratively, "a clause of a sentence," from PIE root *(s)kel- (3) "bent, crooked" (see scoliosis). Meaning evolved from "independent clause" to punctuation mark that sets it off.
- colon (n.2)
- "large intestine," late 14c., from Latinized form of Greek kolon (with a short initial -o-) "large intestine," which is of unknown origin.
Example
- 1. The rectum and colon must be completely empty before surgery .
- 2. It is especially good on the difference between the colon and the semicolon .
- 3. Searching bloomberg 's database , I found seven : the argentine peso , the icelandic krona , the costa rican colon , the pakistani rupee , the nigerian naira , the vietnamese dong and the iranian rial .
- 4. Although laparoscopic colon resection has many benefits , it may not be appropriate for some patients .
- 5. A technique known as minimally invasive laparoscopic colon surgery allows surgeons to perform many common colon procedures through small incisions .