# colon

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈkəʊ.lən/ · frequency rank #12,945

## Definitions
1. The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩.
2. The triangular colon (especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon).
3. A rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.
4. A clause or group of clauses written as a line, or taken as a standard of measure in ancient manuscripts or texts.

## Etymology
From Latin cōlon (“a member of a verse of poem”), from Ancient Greek κῶλον (kôlon, “a member, limb, clause, part of a verse”).

## Easily confused with
- **con** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-con)
- **coo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-coo)
- **cool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-cool)
- **cook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-cook)
- **corn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-corn)
- **colt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-colt)
- **coop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-coop)
- **conn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-conn)
- **Como** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-como)
- **coon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-coon)
- **coos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-coos)
- **color** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-color)
- **Conor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-conor)
- **Conan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-conan)
- **cowan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-cowan)
- **coven** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-coven)
- **common** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-common)
- **colors** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-colors)
- **cotton** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-cotton)
- **column** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/colon-vs-column)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ccolon`, `cloon`, `collon`, `colno`, `colonn`, `cooln`, `oclon`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/colon