Etymograph

English

conjunction

Conjunction comes from Latin coniūnctiō ‘joining’, from coniungō ‘to join’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yewg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-1‘to join, to yoke, to tie together’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yunégti ~ *yungénti2reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jungō2‘to join’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiungō3‘to join, unite, connect’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconiungō1as coniungere‘to join’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconiūnctiō1‘joining’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400conjonction1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1603conjunction1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English conjunction
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin iungo
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Latin coniungo
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “Certaine Nations (and amongst others, the Mahometane) abhorre Conjunction…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yewg-Wiktionary, English conjunction‘to join, to yoke, to tie together’root named by Wiktionary
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*yunégti ~ *yungéntiWiktionary, Latin iungoreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*jungōWiktionary, Latin iungo‘to join’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEiungōWiktionary, Latin coniungo‘to join, unite, connect’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconiungōWiktionary, English conjunctionas coniungere‘to join’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconiūnctiōWiktionary, English conjunction‘joining’
  7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400conjonctionWiktionary, English conjunction
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1603conjunctionWiktionary, English conjunction. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1603, Michel de Montaigne, The Essayes […]: “Certaine Nations (and amongst others, the Mahometane) abhorre Conjunction…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *yewg- ‘to join, to yoke, to tie together’

joint, yoga, rejoin, yogi, jodi, yoke, jugular, injunction, zygote, subjugate, yojana, conjugate, yuga, conjugation, 34 more

through Proto-Italic *jungō ‘to join’

adjoining, joiner, disjoint, adjoint, enjoin, 11 more

through Latin iungō ‘to join, unite, connect’

join, junta, adjunct, juxtaposition, juncture, jostle, subjunctive, disjunction, 16 more

Today it means

noun The act of joining, or condition of being joined.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “conjunction”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin iungo, Latin coniungo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *yewg- / conjunction

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