Connections

How to spell connections

11 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce connections

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does connections mean?

1. nounThe plural of connection: links, associations, or relationships between people, things, or ideas.

Connections in a sentence

• The engineer checked all the cable connections before powering up the server.

• She built useful business connections during her years in the industry.

Where does connections come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word goes back to the Latin verb connectere, meaning 'to bind or fasten together', formed from the prefix con- ('together') and nectere ('to tie or bind'). From that verb Latin produced the noun connexio, describing a binding or joining, and that passed into English through French in the late Middle Ages. For a long time English actually preferred the spelling 'connexion', following the Latin connexionem closely, and you will still see that older form in some very traditional British texts. The modern spelling 'connection' won out because it matches the verb 'connect', and that is the small trap: the doubled n comes from con- meeting nect, while only one n appears in the prefix itself. The same nectere root quietly survives in 'annex' and in the rarer word 'nexus', both of which still carry the idea of things tied together.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• nect (to bind/join, from Latin nectere)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)
• -s (plural)