Is connexion synonymous with connection?
Can I use it, for example, in an ethernet connexion?
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4 Answers
No, at least not in American English.
From Wikipedia:
Connexion is the original and variant spelling of "connection", common until at least the 19th century, and still occasionally used in British English (it was the house style of The Times of London as recently as the 1980s). It is derived from the Latin connexio, hence the spelling, unlike most words ending in "-ction" which are derived from Latin words ending in "-ctio" (e.g. "protection" from protectio).
I've never seen that spelling in use in the US.
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2Sounds like the name of some Technology company to me. (American English speaker). Never seen it written like that, but would associate it with an alternative spelling of Connection if seen in older texts. Feb 23, 2011 at 21:11
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2@Aequitarum Custos You're not the only one that thought this would made a good tech company name: connexiontechnologies.net/cnxntech/index– ZootFeb 23, 2011 at 21:35
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Could also be a typo from someone who speaks French or another language in which it's always written connexion. I know it's a mistake I often make.– DominoJul 29, 2022 at 18:52
In British English, connexion is an alternative spelling of connection; American English only uses connection.
The origin of the word connection explains the reason of this.
Connection has origin from the Latin connexio(n-); only in the 18th century the spelling -ct- started to be used, on the pattern of words like collect, and collection.
answered Feb 23, 2011 at 21:19
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1On a side note, the formation connectio would be impossible in classical Latin: connexion is hence etymologically preferable, if we maintain that words should not be based on folk etymology where possible. At any rate, there was as far as I know no verb connecto in classical Latin, only necto existed; it was probably a medieval or Renaissance invention. This is logical if you consider what the con- has to add to the meaning of necto: nothing. The word with the intended meaning that actually existed in classical Latin was nexus — and even that was, I believe, a late word. Feb 24, 2011 at 15:41
It mainly appears in (some) British texts and/or archaic texts. In use of typical American English, the word "connexion" would simply be replaced with the standard term, connection.
The term "connexion" is depreciated in modern American English. It is still (sometimes) used in British English.
An Example of Encountering the Term Connexion In a Modern Context
I found the use of the term "connexion" in some translations of Kant's Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics.
Kant is still being read in philosophy today, so that is one use of the term "connexion" in a modern context.
This was the book:--
(https://www.amazon.de/Kants-Prolegomena-Future-Metaphysics-English-ebook/dp/B01LZ8UD4C)
You can find the Kant quote below.
Research:--
Sources and References:--
Other References and Further Reading:--
MLA Citation:--
"I therefore first tried whether Hume's objection could not be put into a general form, and soon found that the concept of the connexion of cause and effect was by no means the only idea by which the understanding thinks the connexion of things a priori, but rather that metaphysics consists altogether of such connexions."
Emphasis via italics is by me and is not from the original text.
-- Kant, Immanuel. “Kant's Prolegomena: To Any Future Metaphysics (English Edition) Kindle Edition.” Kant's Prolegomena: To Any Future Metaphysics (English Edition) EBook: Immanuel Kant: Amazon.de: Kindle-Shop, https://www.amazon.com/Kants-Prolegomena-Future-Metaphysics-English-ebook/dp/B01LZ8UD4C.
answered May 1, 2018 at 4:51
It is definitely used in British English. I came across this variant of spelling in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. If we look closely at the author of the book, J.R.R Tolkien, he is a Briton and wrote this book in 1954. The usage of this spelling is dated and it's closer related to 19th century/ early 20th century. In Canada, we spell it just like in the US: connection.
