Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *-né-
Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥néh₃ti
Proto-Germanic *kunnaną
Proto-West Germanic *kunnan
Old English cunnan
Middle English connen
English con
Inherited from Middle English connen, inherited from Old English cunnan (“to know, know how”), inherited from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan (“recognize, know how”), inherited from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną (“to know, know how”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”) Doublet of can.
Meanings
(rare) To study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart.
He read old almanacs at the book-stalls on the quays, and he began to frequent another café, where more newspapers were taken and his post-prandial demi-tasse cost him a penny extra, and where he used to con the tattered sheets for curious anecdotes, freaks of nature, and strange coincidences. 1876 July, Henry James, Jr., “The American”, in The Atlantic Monthly: A Magazine of Literature, Science, Art, and Politics, volume XXXVIII, number CCXXV, Boston, Mass.: H[enry] O[scar] Houghton and Company; New York, N.Y.: Hurd and Houghton; Cambridge, Mass.: The Riverside Press, chapter IV, page 17, column 2:
For Caſſius is a-weary of the World: / Hated by one he loues, brau'd by his Brother, / Check'd like a bondman, all his faults obſeru'd, / Set in a Note-booke, learn'd, and con'd by roate / To caſt into my Teeth. 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 125, column 1:
The hawk rested on a crag of the gorge and conned the terrain with a fierce and frowning eye. 1963, D'Arcy Niland, Dadda jumped over two elephants: short stories:
One day, however, when he had been conning one of his music-scores, and by force of imagination was hearing the tune in his head, he lapsed into listlessness, and the music-sheet rolled to the hearth. 1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter XVIII, in Tess of the D’Urbervilles:
At length, himself unsettling, he the pond / Stirred with his staff, and fixedly did look / Upon the muddy water, which he conned, / As if he had been reading in a book 1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence:
During these delectable entertainments, Miss Wirt and the chaperon sate by, and conned over the peerage, and talked about the nobility. 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 21, in Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
Du Mornay exchanged a few words with me, to assure himself that I understood what I had to do, and then, with many kind expressions, which I did not fail to treasure up and con over in the times that were coming, hastened downstairs after his master. 1893, Stanley J. Weyman, “II. The King of Navarre”, in A Gentleman of France:
I did not come into parliament to con my lesson. I had earned my pension before I set my foot in St. Stephen's chapel. 1795, Edmund Burke, Letter to a Noble Lord on the Attacks Made upon him and his Pension, in the House of Lords, by the Duke of Bedford and the Earl of Lauderdale, Early in the Present Session of Parliament:
(obsolete, rare) To know; understand; acknowledge.
Of Muses Hobbinol, I conne no skill 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:
non-con (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · café con leche (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · fabes con amasueles (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con-sensual (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · chili con carne (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · loli-con (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · arroz con pollo (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con rod (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · chili con queso (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · chilli con carne (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con brio (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con moto (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con amore (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con sordino (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · nem con (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con-non-con (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · mod cons (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · air-con (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · bodycon (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con-scan (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · chile con carne (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con sordini (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · cone (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · crim con (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con law (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries) · con sord (English terms containing "con" etymologically unrelated to the above entries)
fr contre (disadvantage of something) · mk недо́статок (disadvantage of something) · fr inconvénient (disadvantage of something) · hu kontra (disadvantage of something) · el μειονέκτημα (disadvantage of something) · nl nadeel (disadvantage of something) · fr inconvénients (disadvantage of something) · vi khuyết điểm (disadvantage of something) · es contra (disadvantage of something) · ru контраргуме́нт (disadvantage of something) · el πλην (disadvantage of something) · th ข้อเสีย (disadvantage of something) · cs proti (disadvantage of something) · sv nackdel (disadvantage of something) · fi haitta (disadvantage of something) · de Kontra (disadvantage of something) · ca contra (disadvantage of something) · pt contra (disadvantage of something) · fi haittapuoli (disadvantage of something) · it contro (disadvantage of something) · ru до́вод про́тив (disadvantage of something) · vi nhược điểm (disadvantage of something) · cs zápor (disadvantage of something) · hu ellenérv (disadvantage of something) · hu hátrány (disadvantage of something) · el μείον (disadvantage of something) · ru недоста́ток (disadvantage of something) · bg минус (disadvantage of something) · nl voor- en nadelen (disadvantage of something)
ru престу́пница (a convicted criminal, a convict) · fi rangaistusvanki (a convicted criminal, a convict) · mk пре́стапник (a convicted criminal, a convict) · el κατάδικος (a convicted criminal, a convict) · nl een veroordeelde (a convicted criminal, a convict) · ru осуждённый (a convicted criminal, a convict) · it carcerato (a convicted criminal, a convict) · ru престу́пник (a convicted criminal, a convict) · hu rab (a convicted criminal, a convict) · bg престъпник (a convicted criminal, a convict) · nl een veroordeelde crimineel (a convicted criminal, a convict) · mk зло́сторник (a convicted criminal, a convict) · fi vanki (a convicted criminal, a convict) · sv fånge (a convicted criminal, a convict) · hu elítélt (a convicted criminal, a convict) · fr taulard (a convicted criminal, a convict) · ru зэк (a convicted criminal, a convict)
(informal) A fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.
Leavers will be attracted to that story because it spares them the discomfort of admitting that they voted for a con, and then made a prime minister of the con artist. 2021 February 23, Rafael Behr, “Brexit is a machine to generate perpetual grievance. It's doing its job perfectly”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2021:
My heart is breaking for my sister
And the con that she called "love" 2012, Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, “Some Nights”, in Some Nights), performed by fun.:
tr katakulli (a fraud) · fr duperie (a fraud) · ru моше́нничество (a fraud) · ru плутовство́ (a fraud) · hu trükk (a fraud) · nrf aveugliément (a fraud) · tr üçkâğıt (a fraud) · bg шантаж (a fraud) · mk и́змама (a fraud) · ru жу́льничество (a fraud) · de Bauernfängerei (a fraud) · sv bondfångeri (a fraud) · sv bedrägeri (a fraud) · ru разводка (a fraud) · nl fraudeur (a fraud) · nl fraude (a fraud) · el απατεωνιά (a fraud) · fi huijaus (a fraud) · fr escroquerie (a fraud) · hu szélhámosság (a fraud) · fi petos (a fraud) · bg измама (a fraud) · sv bluff (a fraud) · ru надува́тельство (a fraud) · pdt Schwindel (a fraud) · el απάτη (a fraud) · bg шмекерия (a fraud) · fr arnaque (a fraud) · hu csalás (a fraud) · mi māminga (a fraud)
(informal, transitive) To trick, lie or defraud, usually for personal gain.
Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals [title] 2017 July 17, Martin Lukacs, “Neoliberalism has conned us into fighting climate change as individuals”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 22 Apr 2022:
Taiwan man soaks feet in dry ice for 10 hours to con insurance firms, causing amputation […] A man in Taiwan shocked the internet after attempting to defraud five insurance companies by immersing his feet in a bucket of dry ice for 10 hours, resulting in the amputation of both feet. 2025 June 25, Yating Yang, “Taiwan man soaks feet in dry ice for 10 hours to con insurance firms, causing amputation”, in South China Morning Post, archived from the original on 03 Apr 2026:
con man (terms derived from "con" (swindle)) · con trick (terms derived from "con" (swindle)) · con artist (terms derived from "con" (swindle)) · con game (terms derived from "con" (swindle))
bg баламосам (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · de austricksen (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · fr duper (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · bg мамя (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · fi vedättää (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · mi pīnono (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ru обма́нывать (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ne छक्याउनु (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ru наду́ть (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · grc φενακίζω (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · de betrügen (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · izh ommella (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · sv lura (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ru надува́ть (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ja ごまかす (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ota صاغمق (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · nl bedriegen (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · sv bluffa (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · es estafar (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · fi huijata (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · de reinlegen (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · izh veetellä (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ja 騙す (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · mk и́змами (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · sv bedra (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · bg измамя (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ru разводить (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · ru обману́ть (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · mi whakateke (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · es engañar (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · bg баламосвам (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · es embaucar (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · bg измамвам (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · el ξεγελώ (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain) · fr escroquer (to trick or defraud, usually for personal gain)
(informal) An organized gathering, such as a convention, conference, or congress.
I can't speak for Faye as ed of FHAPA, but it would be really swell of someone could send us a set of Intersection daily newszines, plus any con flyers or other fannish papers that were there to had for the picking up: fannish things, you know, not including media, gaming, filking or costuming, fine fun but not my cup of blog, thank you. 1995 September 4, Lindsay Crawford, “Re: Intersection”, in rec.arts.sf.fandom (Usenet), message-ID <9509042250393785@emerald.com>:
Origin uncertain. Perhaps a clipping of Middle English acquerne, aquerne, ocquerne, okerne (“squirrel”), from Old English ācweorna, āqueorna, āquorna, ācurna (“squirrel”), from Proto-West Germanic *aikwernō, from Proto-Germanic *aikwernô (“squirrel”); or from its Old Norse cognate íkorni (“squirrel”), from the same ultimate source. Cognate with West Frisian iikhoarn (“squirrel”), Dutch eekhoorn (“squirrel”), German Eichhorn (“squirrel”), Icelandic íkorni (“squirrel”).
Meanings
(dialectal, obsolete) Squirrel, particularly the red squirrel.