col-

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.

One medical term you may be familiar with that uses col- is colitis, meaning “inflammation of the colon.”

The first part of the word, col-, represents “colon.” The second part of the word, -itis, might also look familiar: it’s used in medical terms to denote “inflammation.”Colitis, then, breaks down to “colon inflammation.”

What are some words that use the combining form col-?

• colectomy

What are some other forms that col- may be commonly confused with?

• coll-
• chol-

There are many other words begin with col-, from cola and colander to color to colony, but they are not using col- as a combining form meaning “colon.”

Adding to the confusion (but highlighting just how much English gets out of the letters col-) is the fact that col- is also a variant of the prefix com-, meaning “with, together,” when combined with words or word elements beginning with -l-, as in collateral.

The combining form -ectomy means “excision, removal” With this in mind, what does the surgical procedure of colectomy involve?