# colon

Pronunciation: say "KOH-luhn" US /ˈkoʊ.lən/, UK /ˈkəʊ.lən/

## Noun

1. The punctuation mark written ⟨:⟩, formed by two dots placed one above the other.
   - Simple: A punctuation mark of two dots placed one above the other (:), used before a list or an explanation.
   - _The editor inserted a colon to separate the title from the subtitle._
   - _A ratio such as three to one is often written with a colon between the numbers._
2. The largest part of the large intestine, forming the final segment of the digestive tract between the ileum and the rectum.
   - Simple: The main part of the large intestine, which takes water from waste before it passes out of the body.
   - _The surgeon removed a small section of the patient's colon during the operation._
   - _Inflammation of the colon can cause severe abdominal pain._
3. A European colonial settler, particularly one living in a French colony. (pronounced: US say "kuh-LOHN" /kəˈloʊn/; UK say "kuh-LON" /kəˈlɒn/)
   - Simple: A person from Europe who settled in a colony, especially a French one.
   - _The colon employed dozens of local laborers on his vineyard._
   - _After independence, thousands of colons fled back to Europe._
4. A rhetorical figure made up of a clause that is grammatically complete but not logically complete.
   - Simple: A part of a sentence that sounds finished by its grammar but does not finish the idea.
   - _The orator built his sentence from three carefully balanced colons._
   - _Each colon stands complete in its grammar yet leans on what follows for its sense._
5. A clause or group of clauses written as a single line, or used as a unit of measure in ancient manuscripts.
   - Simple: In old handwritten texts, a line of writing used as a unit to measure how long the work is.
   - _The editor arranged each colon on its own line for clarity._
   - _Ancient copyists were sometimes paid according to the number of colons they transcribed._

## Noun

6. A triangular form of the colon, used as a stand-in when the actual triangular symbol cannot be typed. *(rare)*
   - Simple: A triangle-shaped version of the two-dot mark, often typed as a normal colon when the true symbol is unavailable.
   - _He wrote a colon here because his keyboard could not produce the triangular symbol._
   - _The transcription marks each colon where the original used the triangular sign._
7. One who farms and tills the land; a husbandman. *(obsolete)* (pronounced: US say "kuh-LOHN" /kəˈloʊn/; UK say "kuh-LON" /kəˈlɒn/)
   - Simple: A farmer who works the land to grow crops.
   - _The colon labored from dawn to dusk tending his master's land._
   - _Each colon owed a share of his harvest to the lord of the manor._

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 4–6** — From Latin cōlon ("a member of a verse of a poem"), which came from Ancient Greek kôlon ("a member, limb, clause, or part of a verse").
**Meaning 2** — From Latin colon ("large intestine"), which came from Ancient Greek kólon ("the large intestine, also food, meat, or fodder").
**Meanings 3, 7** — From French colon.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/colon (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).