con meaning (rare): definition, etymology and quotations

con

verb

UK /kɒn/ · US /kɑn/

Etymology 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.

Rare To study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart.

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:
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 book1815 [1802], William Wordsworth, Resolution and Independence:

4 more examples

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:
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:
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:
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:

Obsolete, Rare To know; understand; acknowledge.

Of Muses Hobbinol, I conne no skill1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC:

Related terms: aleconner, conner, couth, cuddle, cunning, cunny, ken, unconned

con

noun

Etymology Abbreviation of Latin contrā (“against”).

A disadvantage of something, especially when contrasted with its advantages (pros).

pros and cons

Synonyms: disadvantage
Antonyms: pro
Related terms: pros and cons

con

noun

Etymology Clipping of convict.

Slang A convicted criminal, a convict.

Derived terms: ex-con

con

verb

Etymology From con trick, shortened from confidence trick.

Informal 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:

Derived terms: outcon, unconned
Related terms: con artist, con game, con man, con trick

con

noun

Etymology From con trick, shortened from confidence trick.

Informal A fraud; something carried out with the intention of deceiving, usually for personal, often illegal, gain.

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.:
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:

Derived terms: bull con, con artist, con man, conman, con woman, conwoman, Don the Con, green con, long con, short con

con

noun

Etymology Clipping of convention or conference.

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>:

Derived terms: con crud, confan, con flu, congoer, conrunner, constaff, consuite, furcon, post-con depression, relaxacon, Trekcon

con

noun

Etymology Clipping of conversion.

Informal The conversion of part of a building.

We're getting a loft con done next year.

con

noun

Etymology Clipping of consumption.

Informal, Obsolete Consumption; pulmonary tuberculosis.

con

noun

Etymology 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”).

Dialectal, Obsolete Squirrel, particularly the red squirrel.

Northern England, Obsolete A squirrel's nest.

con

noun

Etymology Clipping of conservative; compare lib.

Abbreviation A political conservative.

own the cons

Derived terms: neocon, Obamacon

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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Conjugation of “con”, all tenses