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conjunction

Etymology and origin of the English word conjunction

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1374
Borrowed from
Old French conjonction via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (iungō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kənˈdʒʌŋk.ʃən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English conjunctioun, borrowed from Old French conjonction (“union, joining”),[2][3][4] from Latin coniūnctiō (“a joining, union”), from coniungō (“to join together”), from com- (“together”) and iungō (“to join”) (see join),[2][5] from Proto-Indo-European *yeug- (“to join”).[3] The grammatical sense was probably taken directly from Latin.[2] Old English had translated the Latin word as geðeodnys.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The apparent closeness of two planets: 1375, in John Barbour's The Bruce.[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

The act of joining is from about 1374 in the OED, about 1380 in Chaucer's Boethius in Barnhart,[6][2] and the part of speech from before 1397, in the Wycliffe Bible.[2] In alchemy a conjunction was a union of substances (about 1400).[6] Union in marriage (1541) and sexual union (1567) are obsolete senses.[6][3] A combination of events is from 1684,[6] and in conjunction with from 1745.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1374 – the act of joining.[6]
  • 1375 – a conjunction of planets.[2][6]
  • before 1397 – a conjunction (grammar).[2]
  • 1567 – sexual union (obsolete).[6]
  • 1745 – in conjunction with.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (grammar) A word, such as and, but or because, that connects words, phrases or clauses.
  2. The act of joining; combination or union.
  3. The simultaneous occurrence of events; coincidence.
  4. (astronomy, astrology) The apparent closeness of two heavenly bodies.
  5. in conjunction with: together with.

Word family

  • conjunctional
  • conjunctionally
  • nonconjunction
  • coordinating conjunction
  • subordinating conjunction

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Conjunction.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/conjunction. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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