col-

¹

1. variant of com- before l: collateral.

col.

²

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) strain.

col-

³

1. variant of colo- before a vowel.

   colectomy.

col.

⁴

abbreviation

1. collected.

2. collector.

3. college.

4. collegiate.

5. colonial.

6. colony.

7. color.

8. colored.

9. column.

col

⁵

[kol, kawl]

noun

plural

cols 

1. Physical Geography.,  a pass or depression in a mountain range or ridge.

2. Meteorology.,  the region of relatively low pressure between two anticyclones.

COL

⁶

1. cost of living.

Col.

⁷

abbreviation

1. Colombia.

2. Colonel.

3. Colorado.

4. Bible.,  Colossians.

Col.

¹

abbreviation

1. Colombia(n)

2. Colonel

3. Bible Colossians

col

²

/ kɒl, kɔl /

noun

1. the lowest point of a ridge connecting two mountain peaks, often constituting a pass

2. meteorol a pressure region between two anticyclones and two depressions, associated with variable weather

col-

³

prefix

1. a variant of com-

   collateral

col-

⁴

prefix

1. a variant of colo-

   colectomy

col.

⁵

abbreviation

1. column

Word History and Origins

Origin of Col.¹

From the Latin word colā

Origin of Col.²

1850–55; < French < Latin collum neck

Word History and Origins

Origin of Col.¹

C19: from French: neck, col, from Latin collum neck

Example Sentences

Capt Traoré seized power in 2022, after forcing another military ruler, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba, from office.

From BBC

Their non-ideological approach to politics also reflected the thinking of Col.

From Los Angeles Times

Col Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the presidential office in Kyiv, warned reporters in the US in June that the Kremlin wanted to occupy all of Ukraine east of the Dnipro river, which cuts Ukraine in half.

From BBC

Leonardo DiCaprio plays a drug-and-booze-addled revolutionary trying to rescue his kidnapped daughter, with Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall and Alana Haim as his comrades, Benicio del Toro as his wild-card ally Sensei Sergio and Sean Penn as their white-nationalist antagonist, Col.

From Los Angeles Times

“Vandenberg Space Force Base plays a vital role in strengthening America’s national security by leveraging the power of commercial innovation,” Col.

From Los Angeles Times

When To Use

What does col- mean?

Col- is a combining form used like a prefix representing the word colon, the part of the large intestine extending from the cecum to the rectum. It is often used in medical terms.Col- comes from the Greek kólon, meaning “large intestine.” The Greek kólon is also the source of such words as colic and colicky, a word which many parents may know all too well.Col-, when it refers to the colon, is a variant of colo-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.Want to know more? Read our Words That Use colo- article.