concatenate
UK[kɒnˈkætəneɪt]US[kɑːnˈkætəneɪt]
v
To link things together in a chain or series.
v
In computing, to join character strings or data sequences end-to-end.
Morpheme Breakdown
con
caten
ate
con
together
caten
chain
ate
verb suffix
Etymology
The word 'concatenate' has a direct and logical lineage from Latin. It originates from the past participle of the Late Latin verb concatenare, which itself was formed from the prefix con- (meaning "together") and the noun catena (meaning "chain"). The literal sense was "to link together as in a chain." This concrete, physical meaning was carried directly into English in the 16th century. Over time, and especially with the advent of computing, the term evolved to describe the abstract linking of ideas, events, or, most commonly, digital data strings in a sequential order, preserving the core concept of forming a connected series.
Analysis
Structure: con (together) + caten (chain) + ate (verb suffix)
- con: A Latin prefix meaning "together" or "with".
- caten: From Latin catena, meaning "chain".
- ate: A Latin-derived suffix used to form verbs meaning "to make" or "to act upon".
Examples
The program will concatenate the first name and last name fields to create a full name.
Historians often concatenate a series of economic factors to explain the cause of the revolution.
To form the complete URL, concatenate the base address with the specific page path.