col

¹ American  

[kol, kawl] / kɒl, kɔl /

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 ² American  

1. cost of living.

---

col- ³ American  

1. variant of com- before l: collateral.

---

col- ⁴ American  

1. variant of colo- before a vowel.

   colectomy.

---

col. ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. (in prescriptions) strain.

---

col. ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. collected.

2. collector.

3. college.

4. collegiate.

5. colonial.

6. colony.

7. color.

8. colored.

9. column.

---

Col. ⁷ American  

abbreviation

1. Colombia.

2. Colonel.

3. Colorado.

4. Bible. Colossians.

---

Col. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Colombia(n)

2. Colonel

3. Bible Colossians

---

col ² British  

/ 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 British  

prefix

1. a variant of com-

   collateral

---

col- ⁴ British  

prefix

1. a variant of colo-

   colectomy

---

col. ⁵ British  

abbreviation

1. column

---

Usage

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.

Etymology

Origin of col¹

1850–55; < French < Latin collum neck

Origin of col.⁵

From the Latin word colā

Example Sentences

There, two summit finishes — the col du Granon, at 2,413 metres above sea level, then l’Alpe d’Huez and its 21 hairpin bends — will prove a tough challenge for the peloton.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2021

She eats a lot of pasta, and the song is talking about the pappa col pomodoro, so it felt really fun to mix the two.

From Slate • Jun. 25, 2021

It took them a week to extract two cores in a col — or saddle between two peaks — at about 6,000 metres above sea level.

From Nature • Sep. 3, 2019

He’s put in his 10,000 hours when it comes to eating focaccia col formaggio di Recco, and still savors every bite of the stuff and speaks about the dish with an almost religious devotion.

From New York Times • Aug. 13, 2019

We scaled the little cliff on to the glacier that morning with the full consciousness that one way or another it was an imperative necessity to reach the col.

From Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 by Howard-Bury, Charles Kenneth