Etymologically
Log in

conecto

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 05:31. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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

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