English
connection
Connection comes from Latin connexiō ‘a binding together’, from cōnectō ‘to bind together’, from con- + nectō ‘to bind’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnectō1‘to bind, tie’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnectō1‘to bind together’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconnexiō1‘a binding together’alternative spelling of cōnectō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500conneccioun1
- Englishearliest quotation 1923connection1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English connection
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1923, Ernest Bramah pseudonym; Ernest Brammah , (please specify the page): “I hadn't much chance of buying a practice or…”.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnectōWiktionary, English connection‘to bind, tie’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōnectōWiktionary, English connection‘to bind together’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEconnexiōWiktionary, English connection‘a binding together’alternative spelling of cōnectō
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500connecciounWiktionary, English connection
- Englishearliest quotation 1923connectionWiktionary, English connection. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1923, Ernest Bramah pseudonym; Ernest Brammah , (please specify the page): “I hadn't much chance of buying a practice or…”
The story
In American English mid-18c., spelling shifted from connexion to connection (equivalent to connect + -ion), thus making connexion British dated and connection in international use.
Linked words
through Latin nectō ‘to bind’
through Latin cōnectō ‘to bind together’
Today it means
noun The act of connecting.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “connection”. 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 / Latin nectō / connection