Etymologically
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conjunction

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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