conecto

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [koːˈnɛk.toː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [koˈnɛk.to]^[1]

Forms

cōnectō (present infinitive cōnectere, perfect active cōnexuī, supine cōnexum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from con- (“together”) and nectō “to tie, fasten”.^[2][1][3] Nectō goes back to Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to bind”).^[3] Lewis and Short and Gaffiot prefer the spelling ⟨cōnectō⟩ to ⟨connectō⟩.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first citation is Plautus, whose little cloak is fastened on the left shoulder.^[2][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant to join, fasten or link together, as Propertius' braided hair, and in the passive to be adjacent.^[2][5] It meant to relate or associate two things, to be logically connected, as in Lucretius, to string together from parts, and to form a friendship.^[2] Of words and ideas it meant to form a link, lead on to, as in Cicero, and of persons to involve in a charge, as in Tacitus.^[2] Lewis and Short note it is most frequent in the passive participle and in figurative senses.^[4]

English connect was borrowed in the mid-15th century, and English connection comes from the related connexiō in the late 14th.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a fastened cloak.^[2][6]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of logical connection.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of tying a knot.^[2][6]
• mid-15th century – English connect is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To join, fasten, link together.^[2]
2. To relate, connect (logically).^[2]
3. To string together; to tie (a knot); to form (a friendship).^[2]
4. To form a link between.^[2]
5. To involve (in a charge).^[2]

Word family

• cōnexiō
• cōnexīuus
• cōnexum
• cōnexus
• inconnexus
• cōnexē

Related words

• nectō
• English connect
• English connection

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de