Con-

Encyclopedia : C : CO : CON : Con-

The prefix con- (also co-, col-, com-, and cor-) first appeared in English words in the Middle English period in words borrowed from French. It comes from the Latin prefix com-/con- It existed in Old Latin only as a prefix but by Classical Latin it existed as the free-standing preposition 'cum' meaning 'with, together with.' Later in the Middle English period it became a productive prefix as it is to this day (mostly co-) except (arguably) in the perfective and intensive senses. Its meaning ranges from

1. "together" (example: conjoin)
2. "with, together with" (example: conspire)
3. abstract meaning (sometimes called perfective or intensive) "forcefully, completely, fully (example: complete < con- + plere "to fill" hence "full up, completely full") In this sense it is similar to per- and it is (arguably) no longer a productive prefix in this sense. In Latin, it was attached to existing verbs (seemingly) just to differentiate it from the base verb (example: compellere < pellere) at which point it could take on new shades of meaning while still being identified with the meaning of the base verb.

Forms

con- has the following forms:

con- (con- + c, d, f, g, n, q, s, t) (examples: concoction, condemnation, , congregation, connection, conquer, , contraction, convocation) Note: comfort is an exception to this pattern.
co- (con- + vowel) (examples: coaeval, coeation, coincidence, cooperate)
col- (con- + l) (example: collate)
com- (con- + m, b, p ) (examples: commerce, combine, comply)
cor- (con- + r) (example )

Effect on following vowel

When attached to a verbal root, prefixes often change the first vowel (whether initial or preceded by a consonant/consonant cluster) of that verb. These phonological changes took place in Latin and usually do not apply to words created (as in Modern Latin) from Latin components since Latin became a 'dead' language. Note: the combination of prefix and following vowel did not always yield the same change. (see examples below at con- + -a-) Also, these changes in vowels are not necessarily particular to being prefixed with con- (see ex-).

con- + -a- = -e- (example: conjecture < con- + iacere. Also condemnation, conception) Note: The letter 'i', when initial, was pronounced like the Modern English 'y' in most Latin dialects.
con- + -a- = -i- (example: contingency < con- + tangere. also concision, constitution, conspicuous)
con- + -au- = -u- (example: conclusion < con- + claudere)

Con-

Forms

Effect on following vowel

See also