Connection

How to spell connection

10 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce connection

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does connection mean?

1. nounA link, association, or relationship between two or more things, people, or ideas.

Connection in a sentence

• The engineer checked every wire and connection before powering up the rig.

• There is a clear connection between regular exercise and better sleep.

Where does connection come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb conectere, later spelled connectere, meaning 'to bind or tie together', formed from the prefix con- ('together') and the verb nectere ('to bind, fasten, or weave'). The same nectere root sits inside 'annex' and 'nexus', all of them carrying the idea of things knotted into one. English took the noun in through Latin and French in the 1600s, originally describing a physical joining or fastening, and the meaning later broadened to cover links between ideas, people, transport services, and electrical circuits. For a long time British writers favoured the spelling 'connexion', a form modelled directly on the Latin past participle connexus, and it lingered in formal and religious use well into the twentieth century. The modern spelling 'connection', built on the verb 'connect' plus '-ion', has now won out across all regions, and the single trap to remember is the double n inherited from the Latin con- prefix meeting nect.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• nect (to bind/join)
• -ion (noun suffix)