col
Origin of col
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Origin of col.
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WORDS THAT USE COL-
What does col- mean?
Col- is a combining form used like a prefix representing the word colon, the part of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum. It is often used in medical terms.
Col- comes from the Greek kólon, meaning “large intestine.” The Greek kólon is also the source of such words as colic and colicky, a word which many parents may know all too well.
Col-, when it refers to the colon, is a variant of colo-, which loses its –o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.
Want to know more? Read our Words That Use colo- article.
Examples of col-
One medical term you may be familiar with that uses col- is colitis, meaning “inflammation of the colon.”
The first part of the word, col-, represents “colon.” The second part of the word, -itis, might also look familiar: it’s used in medical terms to denote “inflammation.”Colitis, then, breaks down to “colon inflammation.”
What are some words that use the combining form col-?
What are some other forms that col- may be commonly confused with?
There are many other words begin with col-, from cola and colander to color to colony, but they are not using col- as a combining form meaning “colon.”
Adding to the confusion (but highlighting just how much English gets out of the letters col-) is the fact that col- is also a variant of the prefix com-, meaning “with, together,” when combined with words or word elements beginning with -l-, as in collateral.