Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "colon" come from? It comes from Greek kōlon, and was adopted directly into English (1550s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "colon" come from? It comes from Greek kōlon, and was adopted directly into English (1550s).
Colon’s story begins in Greek: kōlon meant “limb, clause.” Greek, a member or clause of a sentence. It reached English by 1550s as colon. The intestine 'colon' is a different Greek word, 'kolon'. Today, colon means a punctuation mark (:).
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient kōlon "limb, clause", Greek, a member or clause of a sentence.
- Stage 2 · English · 1550s colon "clause; punctuation mark", the intestine 'colon' is a different Greek word, 'kolon'.