Conjunction — From Latin to English | etymologist.ai
conjunction
/kənˈdʒʌŋk.ʃən/·noun·c. 1380·Established
Origin
'Conjunction' is Latin for 'joined together' — a word that joins clauses or planets that appear to meet.
Definition
A word used to connect clauses or sentences (e.g., and, but, if); the action of joining; an instance of two or more events occurring at the same time or place; (astronomy) the alignment of celestial bodies.
The Full Story
Latin14th centurywell-attested
From OldFrench 'conjunction,' from Latin 'conjūnctiōnem' (accusative of 'conjūnctiō,' a joining together, a union, a connection), from 'conjungere' (to join together, to connect, to yoke), from 'con-' (together, with) + 'jungere' (to join, to connect, to yoke), from Proto-Indo-European *yewg- (to join, to yoke). In grammar, a conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses, performing the linguistic act of connection that its etymology describes. In astronomy, 'conjunction' describes the apparent meeting of two
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In medieval astrology, planetary conjunctions — especially the 'great conjunction' of Jupiter and Saturn, which occursroughly every twenty years — were believed to herald major historical events. The conjunction of 7 BCE is onecandidate for the 'Star of Bethlehem.' Johannes Kepler observed the great conjunction of 1603 andcalculated
,' 'disjunct,' 'subjugate,' 'conjugal,' 'conjugate,' and 'jugular.' The grammatical term 'conjūnctiō' was established in Classical Latin rhetoric, where it named one of the eight parts of speech defined by the grammarian Donatus, following the Stoic and Alexandrian tradition. The same root thus supplies both 'conjunction' (the grammatical joiner) and 'conjugal' (the marriage-yoke) and 'yoga' (the spiritual union) — three registers of human joining from a single PIE root. Key roots: con- (Latin: "together, with"), jungere (Latin: "to join, to yoke"), *yewg- (Proto-Indo-European: "to join, to yoke").