colon
UK[ˈkəʊlən]US[ˈkoʊlən]
n
The punctuation mark (:) used to introduce a list, a quotation, an explanation, or a conclusion.
n
The lower and larger part of the large intestine, which absorbs water and electrolytes from undigested food.
Etymology
The word "colon" entered English in the 16th century with its anatomical sense, borrowed directly from Latin "colon," which itself came from Greek "kōlon," meaning a limb, member, or portion, and by extension, a portion of the intestine. The Greek term is traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root kwel-, meaning "to revolve, move around," which also gives us "wheel" and "cycle," possibly evoking the coiled nature of the intestines. The punctuation mark, first recorded in English in the 1580s, derives from the same Greek word "kōlon," which also meant a clause or member of a sentence, reflecting how the mark separates distinct parts of a written thought.
Analysis
This word is a simplex loanword from Latin. It is not productively formed from smaller, meaningful morphemes in modern English.
Examples
The recipe requires the following ingredients: flour, eggs, and sugar.
During the surgery, a polyp was discovered in the patient's colon.
Use a colon after an independent clause to introduce related information.