colon

Etymology 1

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

noun

1. The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩.
   A colon tells the reader that what follows is closely related to the preceding clause. 2005, William Strunk Jr., E.B. White, The Elements of Style, Penguin Press, page 15
2. (rare) The triangular colon (especially in context of not being able to type the actual triangular colon).
3. (rhetoric) A rhetorical figure consisting of a clause which is grammatically, but not logically, complete.
4. (palaeography) A clause or group of clauses written as a line, or taken as a standard of measure in ancient manuscripts or texts.

Etymology 2

From Latin cŏlon (“large intestine”), from Ancient Greek κόλον (kólon, “the large intestine, also food, meat, fodder”).

noun

1. (anatomy) Part of the large intestine; the final segment of the digestive system, after (distal to) the ileum and before (proximal to) the rectum. (Because the colon is the largest part of the large intestine (constituting most of it), it is often treated as synonymous therewith in broad or casual usage.)

Etymology 3

From French colon.

noun

1. (obsolete) A husbandman.
2. A European colonial settler, especially in a French colony.
   The reaction of the European colons, a mixture of shock and fear, was to demand further draconian measures and to suspend any suggestion of new reforms. 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 28