colon Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the part of the large intestine between the cecum and the rectum; it extracts moisture from food residues before they are excreted
  2. noun the basic unit of money in El Salvador; equal to 100 centavos
    El Salvadoran colon.
  3. noun the basic unit of money in Costa Rica; equal to 100 centimos
    Costa Rican colon.
  4. noun a port city at the Caribbean entrance to the Panama Canal
    Aspinwall.
  5. noun a punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)

WordNet

Co"lon noun
Etymology
L. colon, colum, limb, member, the largest of the intestines, fr. Gr. , and in sense of the intestine, : cf. F. colon. Cf. Colic.
Definitions
  1. (Anat.) That part of the large intestines which extends from the cæcum to the rectum. See Illust of Digestion.
  2. (Gram.) A point or character, formed thus [:], used to separate parts of a sentence that are complete in themselves and nearly independent, often taking the place of a conjunction.

Webster 1913