entry
conjunction
/kənˈdʒʌŋkʃən/A joining, connection, or grammatical linking word
From Latin con (with) + Latin iug (to join).
from Latin coniunctionem (nominative coniunctio ), noun of action
+1 more sourcefrom Old French conjonction "union, joining, sexual intercourse" (12c.)
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Latin coniunctionem (nominative coniunctio ), noun of action
+1 more sourcefrom Old French conjonction "union, joining, sexual intercourse" (12c.)
+1 more sourcePicture two oxen hitched beneath a wooden yoke: that physical joining is the image at the heart of conjunction. Latin used con- for “together” and iugāre for “to join,” creating coniunctiō, a “joining” that could describe people, sexual union, or planets appearing in the same stretch of sky. By the late fourteenth century, English speakers had borrowed the word through Old French conjonction—and grammar had claimed it too, using conjunction for the small words that yoke clauses together. The same Latin family later produced junction, conjugation, and juncture, so a verb changing from “I go” to “we went” is, etymologically, being “joined” into a grammatical pattern. Next time and, but, or, and although link your thoughts, imagine them as tiny linguistic yokes: grammar’s oxen pulling separate pieces of meaning into one sentence.
The Story
Picture two oxen hitched beneath a wooden yoke: that physical joining is the image at the heart of conjunction. Latin used con- for “together” and iugāre for “to join,” creating coniunctiō, a “joining” that could describe people, sexual union, or planets appearing in the same stretch of sky. By the late fourteenth century, English speakers had borrowed the word through Old French conjonction—and grammar had claimed it too, using conjunction for the small words that yoke clauses together. The same Latin family later produced junction, conjugation, and juncture, so a verb changing from “I go” to “we went” is, etymologically, being “joined” into a grammatical pattern. Next time and, but, or, and although link your thoughts, imagine them as tiny linguistic yokes: grammar’s oxen pulling separate pieces of meaning into one sentence.
Modern Usage
A combination or simultaneous occurrence of people, qualities, or events
Kin & Kindred
From 'con'·with, together
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From 'iug'·to join; yoke together
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary