A Colon Promises That Something Follows
A colon is a punctuation mark of two dots, and also part of the intestine. The punctuation mark announces what comes next.
A colon is the punctuation mark of two dots, and separately the main part of the large intestine. The punctuation rule is easy to state: a colon makes a promise. What comes before it must be a complete sentence, and what comes after delivers the explanation, list or example it led you to expect. A semicolon, by contrast, joins two independent statements as equals. The two colons are unrelated words that arrived from Greek by different routes.
- The punctuation mark. *Use a colon here.*
- Part of the intestine. *The descending colon.*
- A currency unit. *The Costa Rican colón.*
- Semicolon — the joining mark. *Use a semicolon.*
- Colonic — of the colon. *Colonic health.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | colon | A colon here. |
| Plural | colons | Two colons. |
| Adjective | colonic | Colonic tissue. |
| Related | semicolon | A semicolon. |
| Greek | kolon | A clause; a limb. |
- He wanted one thing: silence.Punctuation.
- The colon absorbs water from waste.Anatomy.
- Bring three things: a map, food and water.Introducing a list.
Colon or semicolon?
- Colon — introduces an explanation, list or quotation
- Semicolon — joins two closely related full sentences
- Before a colon must come a complete sentence
- A colon leans forward; a semicolon holds two halves in balance
- In titles, a colon separates title from subtitle
The punctuation mark is from Greek *kolon*, a clause or member of a sentence. The anatomical word is from Greek *kolon*, the large intestine — separate words that look alike.
When should I use a colon?
When a complete sentence leads into an explanation, a list or a quotation that follows it.
Are the two meanings of colon related?
No. Both came from Greek, but from different words that happen to have the same form in English.