col-

prefix assim. form of COM- before l.

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I.

— see com-

II. combining form or coli- or colo-

Etymology: New Latin, from Latin colon

1. : large intestine

colitis

colostomy

2. : colon bacillus

coliform

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col-¹

var. of com- before l: collateral.

col-²

var. of colo- before a vowel: colectomy.

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col «kol; French kl», noun.

1. a marked depression in a ridge or mountain chain, usually forming a pass from one slope to the other.

2. Meteorology. a) an area between two anticyclones. b) the intersection of a trough and a wedge.

╂[< French col < Old French, neck < Latin collum]

col-,

prefix. the form of com- (Cf. ↑com-) before l, as in collect.

col.,

an abbreviation for the following:

1. collected.

2. collector.

3. college.

4. colonel.

5. a) colonial. b) colony.

6. a) color. b) colored.

7. column.

Col.,

an abbreviation for the following:

1. Colombia.

2. Colonel.

3. Colorado (official abbr: Colo.).

4. Colossians (a book of the New Testament).

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prefix variant spelling of com- assimilated before l (as in collocate, collude)

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col-

assimilated form of the prefix com-, con-, before l; not used in the earliest L., which had con-, but afterwards regular, and so in modern Romanic and Eng., as L. conloquium, colloquium, colloquy. For the general signification, see

As in the case of the parallel forms com- and con-, Latin words in coll- were in Pr., Sp., OFr., and early ME., reduced to col-, as in L. collecta, OF. coleite, ME. colet; so colacion, colege. With the revival of learning this was altered back to coll-; but only one l is sounded, and the unaccented syllable is apt to remain (kəʊ-) or (kə-); there is, however, usually an effort to show the effect of the l upon the vowel, when rhetorical or distinctive stress is put on the first syllable: i.e., the full (kɒl-) may be developed under stress.