col

¹ American  

[kol, kawl] / kɒl, kɔl /

noun

plural

cols

1. Physical Geography. a pass or depression in a mountain range or ridge.

2. Meteorology. the region of relatively low pressure between two anticyclones.

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COL ² American  

1. cost of living.

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col- ³ American  

1. variant of com- before l: collateral.

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col- ⁴ American  

1. variant of colo- before a vowel.

   colectomy.

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col. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) strain.

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col. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. collected.

2. collector.

3. college.

4. collegiate.

5. colonial.

6. colony.

7. color.

8. colored.

9. column.

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Col. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. Colombia.

2. Colonel.

3. Colorado.

4. Bible. Colossians.

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Col. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Colombia(n)

2. Colonel

3. Bible Colossians

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col ² British  

/ kɒl, kɔl /

noun

1. the lowest point of a ridge connecting two mountain peaks, often constituting a pass

2. meteorol a pressure region between two anticyclones and two depressions, associated with variable weather

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col- ³ British  

prefix

1. a variant of com-

   collateral

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col- ⁴ British  

prefix

1. a variant of colo-

   colectomy

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col. ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. column

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Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of col¹

1850–55; < French < Latin collum neck

Origin of col.⁵

From the Latin word colā

Example Sentences

I had this magical moment on top of this col.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 14, 2021

On 13 August, they returned to the project’s staging area, an alpine hut, to begin retrieving 471 metres of cored ice from the col in one-metre chunks.

From Nature • Sep. 3, 2019

He’s put in his 10,000 hours when it comes to eating focaccia col formaggio di Recco, and still savors every bite of the stuff and speaks about the dish with an almost religious devotion.

From New York Times • Aug. 13, 2019

Krugman followed up his Monday column with a self-congratulatory tweet: “True fact: I was reluctant to write today’s col because I knew journos would hate it. But it felt like a moral duty.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 7, 2016

The ascent from the North col, Changa La, 23,000 feet, to the summit of Mount Everest, 29,000 feet, is only 6,000 feet, and the distance to traverse is about 2 miles.

From Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 by Howard-Bury, Charles Kenneth