gon-

¹

1. variant of gono- before a vowel:

   gonidium.

-gon

²

1. a combining form meaning “angled,” “angular,” used in the formation of compound words:

   polygon; pentagon.

-gon

¹

combining form

1. indicating a figure having a specified number of angles

   pentagon

gon-

²

combining_form

1. See gono-
   a variant of gono-

   gonidium

Word History and Origins

Origin of gon-¹

< Greek -gōnos, derivative of gōnía angle, akin to góny knee

Word History and Origins

Origin of gon-¹

from Greek -gōnon, from gōnia angle

Example Sentences

I think 2014 was my big rock and roll year, and 2015 is gonna be a really good year to hang around the house.

From The Daily Beast

She was gonna be in New York and wanted to hang around for New Years and hopefully be able to stay long enough to meet our baby.

From The Daily Beast

But when he heard “A Change Is Gonna Come,” he asked to hear it again.

From The Daily Beast

He was gonna join the fight, you know, really he was, got his ninja getup fitted and everything.

From The Daily Beast

No, we think, “Ugh, now who is gonna clean all the blood from the street!”

From The Daily Beast

Thus men gon is, practically, equivalent to 'some men go'; and so in l. 134.

From Project Gutenberg

Said they were all connected together some way, and he was gonna work out a method to prove it.

From Project Gutenberg

I couldn't see anything else happening, and thought he was gonna do somepin' else to the machine.

From Project Gutenberg

Ellic dun und gon und got hissef drounded, und on de tip eend of dat de boss is dun und got hissef in de penitenshur.

From Project Gutenberg

Argon, ar′gon, n. a constituent element of our atmosphere, discovered in 1894 by Rayleigh and Ramsay.

From Project Gutenberg

Words That Use -gon

What does -gon mean?

The combining form -gon is used like a suffix meaning “angled; angular.” It is often used in technical terms, especially in geometry.

The form -gon comes from Greek gōnía, meaning “angle.” The Latin translation of gōnía is angulus, which is the source of angular and triangle. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.

Examples of -gon

An example of a word you may have encountered that features -gon is polygon, “a figure, especially a closed plane figure, having three or more, usually straight, sides.” The word polygon comes from Greek polýgōnon, which uses the equivalent of the form -gon in that language.

The form poly- means “many,” from Greek polýs. As we have already seen, the suffix -gon means “angled.” Polygon literally translates to “many-angled.”

What are some words that use the equivalent of the combining form -gon in Greek?

• heptagon
• hexagon
• pentagon
• trigon

What are some other forms that -gon may be commonly confused with?

• -gonium
• -gony

Not every word that ends with the exact letters -gon, such as wagon or martagon, is necessarily using the combining form -gon to denote “angled.” Learn why wagon means “four-wheeled vehicle” at our entry for the word.

Break it down!

The combining form tri- means “three.” With this in mind, what does trigon literally mean?