▪ I. con, n.5
Brit. /kɒn/, U.S. /kɑn/
[Shortened <convention n.]
Esp. among enthusiasts of science fiction and role-playing games: a convention, an organized gathering of people with a shared interest. Freq. as the final element in the names of such events.
| 1944 J. B. Speer Fancyclopedia 55/1 In the summer of 1943, Art Widner and LRChauvenet..biked up to Obsequious Manor, Rockland, ME, to visit Norm Stanley. The only official action of the Con was to vote adoption of ‘fen’ as the plural for ‘fan’. 1970 (title) Con-Con: issues for Illinois Constitutional Convention. 1972 Los Angeles Times 29 Nov. iv. 16/6 They were still gathering momentum for the next convention. ‘See you at Equicon?’ said one guy to another. ‘Yeah, man, see you at Equicon.’ 1980 Verbatim Autumn 10/1 Most conventions have names like Worldcon, Philcon,..and the like. 1994 Interzone Mar. 26/2 There's plenty of people out there who read sf and fantasy..who'd probably go pale at the thought of spending a weekend at a con. |
▪ II. con, v.1
(kɒn)
Forms: 1 cunnan, 2–5 cunnen, (cune), 3–6 cunne, 4–9 cun; also kunne(n, kun; also 4–6 connen, (cone), 4–7 conne, 6– con. See more fully under can v.1
[In the verb can the original vowel of the infinitive, and of all parts of the present stem except 1st and 3rd sing. pres. indic., was u: thus Inf. cunnan, ME. cunne(n, cun; Ind. pres. 2nd sing. cunne, later cunnest, pl. cunnon, ME. cunne(n, cun; Conj. pres. cunne, pl. cunnen; pr. pple. cunnand, ME. -end, -ing; vbl. n. cunning. These u forms survived more or less all through the ME. period: see can v.1 A.; but in accordance with the scribal practice of writing o for u, in contact with m, n, u (v), w, they were often spelt connen, conne, con; the pronunciation is however proved by numerous rimes with sone, sonne, son (= son), sonne, son (= sun), yronne (= y-run), wonne, won (OE. wunian), etc. The form of the 1st and 3rd sing. I can, he can, also varied from OE. times with con (cǫn), the regular Old WS. type (see Sievers Ags. Gramm. §65). I con (in Cast. Loue 1071, riming with for-þon) is found for I can in some texts even after 1400; but long before this can prevailed as the midland and northern form, at least in senses 1 and 2. The vowel-type of the 1st and 3rd sing. pres. ind. was gradually extended to the 2nd sing. (cǫnst, canst), the plural (we cǫn, can), the conj. pres., and the infin. (cǫn, can)—the last in Standard Eng. only from end of 15th c. The u forms thus remained intact only in the pple. and vbl. n. cunning, q.v. About the same time a differentiation of forms and senses became manifest: can became established in sense 2 ‘to be able’, and predominant in sense 1 ‘to know’; but cun, con, were retained and extended to all parts in sense 3 ‘to learn’, and the phrase to cun or con thanks, sense 4. This cun, con, was mainly the representative of ME. cunn- or conn- from OE. cunn- (= kun); but in part it represented ME. con, from OE. cǫn, for can (= kɒn); hence it survived in two forms, cun, which is still common dialectally in ‘to cun thanks’, and con, which was the form in literary favour, both in the obs. ‘to con thanks’, and the still existing sense ‘to con or learn a lesson’. This con is not a mere spelling variant of cun, as ME. conne was of cunne; but, from Spenser onward, con rimes with on, conned with fond, which is still the received pronunciation. The original pa. tense was c{uacu}ðe, couthe, coud, could (see can v.1); but already in 14th c. in the phrase to cun thanks, sense 4, we find a pa. tense cunde, conned, with corresp. pa. pple.; at the differentiation of forms this was associated with cun, con, leaving coud, could to can v., so that con is now a regular weak verb con, connest, conneth, cons, conned. Thus there remains no consciousness of connexion between can to be able, and con to learn. The earlier quotations however overlap the ground covered by can v.1, and are given as supplementary to those under that word, and introductory to the later use of con, cun.]
† I. Where can became the normal form.
† 1. To know. Obs. = can v. 1–2. (pa. tense and pple. rarely cunde, conde.)
(α) cunne, cun, kun (originally proper to all parts of pres. stem exc. 1st and 3rd pers. sing. ind.).
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 212 Þy ᵹemete þe læcas cunnon. a 1225 Ancr. R. 124 Alle cunneð wel þeos asaumple. a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 521 He moste kunne muchel of art. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 187 To kun and knaw. 1382 Wyclif 1 Cor. xiv. 7 How schal it be kowd [v.r. cunde, knowen] that is songun. 1388 ― Baruch iii. 9 That thou kunne [1382 wite] prudence. a 1400 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. (1867) 9 If we cune mare þan þay. c 1449 Pecock Repr. 131 In which a man mai leerne and kunne eny thing. 1483 Cath. Angl. 86 To Cunne, scire, etc. 1613 R. C. Table Alph., Cunne, to discerne, also to giue [thanks]. |
(β) conne, con, kon.
| [a 1000 Beowulf 2759 Eard ᵹit ne const. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 For nis nan sunne þet he ne con. c 1320 Cast. Love 1071 He scholde konen al þ{supt} God con [rime for-þon]. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1267 Hit is þe worchyp of yourself þat noȝt bot wel connez.] 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. vi. (1513) 106/4 Konne pres. conj. [rime ronne pa. pple.]. c 1460 Towneley Myst., Creatio 3 My myght may no thing kon [rimes son, won]. 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. v. 27 The first may not be perfightly conned withoute the laste. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. June 65 Of Muses, Hobbinol, I conne no skill. 1595 ― Col. Clout 294 Much more there is unkend then thou dost kon [rime a fon]. 1596 ― F.Q. v. vi. 35 They were all fled for feare, but whether, nether kond. 1607 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. (1641) 209/1 Tunes, Measures..als' hee kons. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 156 That [this] should be..I no more conne, than that, etc. |
b. Const. of, on; = can 2.
| c 1275 Lay. 7302 Wise men þat wel conne of speche [1205 cunnen a speche]. 1486 Bk. St. Alban's E vj b, Thus may ye konne of game. |
† 2. As verb of incomplete predication, with inf.: To know how; hence, to have the capacity or power, to be able; = can v.1 3–8. (pa. tense and pple. always as in can.)
(α) cunne, cun, kun.
| a 1250 Owl & Night. 47 We[n]st þu þat ich ne cunne singe? a 1300 K. Horn 568 Þer nis non betere anonder sunne Þat eni man of telle cunne. a 1300 Cursor M. 2345 (Cott.) Folk sua selcut mani brede, Þat naman suld cun sume ne neuen. Ibid. 9290 Wel sal he cun knau quilk es quilk. c 1400 Rom. Rose 5892 Yit kunne we Sende aftir hir. c 1440 Hylton Scala Perf. (W. de W. 1494) i. lxviii, It is a grete maistry a man to cun [1533 can] loue his euen crysten in charyte. |
(β) conn(e, con, kon(ne.
| a 1225 Juliana 67 Greiðe al þat þu const grimliche biþenchen. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2040 Ariadne, No man elles shal me konne espie. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 327 The cornel ryse upon the wynter sonne, And gire it from the cold West yf thou conne. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon iv. 127, I sholde not conne telle the harme..that he hath doon. [1884 Chesh. Gloss. s.v., Ay, that aw con.] |
II. Senses in which con remained the normal form, with the regular weak inflexions.
3. To get to know; to study or learn, esp. by repetition (mental or vocal); hence, in wider sense, to pore over, peruse, commit to memory; to inspect, scan, examine; = can v.1 9.
† (α) cunne, cun, kun. Obs. (The first quot. perh. belongs to 1.)
| c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. v. xii. 290 Of Iber, Frere Martyne, and Vincens Storyis to cwn dyd diligens. 1567 Drant Horace Epist. ii. i. G ij, Those Rome doth cun [ediscit]. 1578 Whetstone Promos & Cass. iv. iv, It behoves me to be secret, or else my necke-verse cun. 1580 Baret Alv. C. 1743 To cunne..or learn perfectly, ediscere. |
(β) conne, con, kon. (The first two quots. perh. belong to 1.)
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xii. 7 Þe were lef to lerne but loþ for to studie; Þou woldest konne þat I can and carpen hit after. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xi. 282 Conne ye well your lesson. c 1500 Yng. Children's Bk. 149 in Babees Bk. 25 This boke is made for chylder ȝonge..Sone it may be conyd & had. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Feb. 92 A tale of truth, Which I cond of Tityrus in my youth. 1580 North Plutarch (1676) 517 An Oration which..Lysander should have conned without book. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 186 My speech..is excellently well pend, I haue taken great paines to con it. 1620 Ford Linea V. (1843) 49 A lesson worthie to be cond. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 123 Wear Rosaries about their Necks to con Their Exercise of Devotion on. 1689 Prior Ep. to Fleetwood Shephard 155 The books of which I'm chiefly fond, Are such, as you have whilom conn'd. 1720 Swift To Stella, A poet starving in a garret, Conning old topics like a parrot. 1832 Lytton Eug. Aram i. x. (Stratm.), When the flower had been duly conned. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xii, Patiently conning the page again and again. 1865 A. Cary Ball. & Lyrics 111 Intent..to con the stranger's face. 1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. I. 154 Persons who con pedigrees. |
† b. to con or cun by heart or by rote. Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 90, I can konne more by herte in a day than he can in a weke. 1587 Golding De Mornay xxx. 475 Not to cun by heart, nor to write out. 1590 Greenwood Answ. Def. Read Prayers 15 Conning phrases and formes of prayer by roate. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams ii. (1692) 56 To conn by heart these prayers. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 211 To con the Authors Names by rote. |
c. to con over.
| 1644 Milton Educ. Wks. (1847) 98/2 By orderly conning over the visible and inferior creature. 1670 Eachard Cont. Clergy 107 Skil enough to reade the lessons with twice conning over. 1734 Watts Reliq. Juv. (1789) 127 Ritillo..cons over his prayer-book. 1835 Whewell in Todhunter Acc. W.'s Wks. (1876) II. 213, I have hardly had time to con over your examination papers. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithful xxviii, I was conning over in my mind whom I should select. 1858 R. S. Surtees Ask Mamma xlix. 215 The Baronet conned the..matter over in his mind. 1876 Black Madcap V. xlii. 367 He had conned over a few little bits of rhetoric. |
4. to cun or con thank(s (OE. þanc cunnan): to acknowledge or avow one's gratitude; to express or offer thanks, to thank: see can v.1 10.
(α) cun thank(s: now dialectal.
| a 1000 Crist 1092 (Gr.) Þam þe þonc gode..ne cuðon. a 1225 Ancr. R. 124 Nolde he cunnen god þonc. c 1280 E.E.P. (1862) 21 Þou cunnest me no þonk. a 1300 Cursor M. 6398 (Cott.) Þai cund [Fairf. conned] him ai ful litell thanck. Ibid. 14065 (Gött.), I cun [Trin. con] hir mekil thank. c 1460 Towneley Myst., Mactacio Abel 12 Thank or thew to kun me. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. in Promp. Parv. 90 Thou shalt kun me thanke. 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camd. Soc.) 25, I could have cunnid him greater thank if he had takin les paines. a 1651 Calderwood Hist. Kirk (1678) 248 (Jam.) These he would cunne thanks. 1781 Hutton Tour Caves Gloss. (E.D.S.), Cun thanks, to give thanks. 1824 in Jamieson. 1869 Lonsdale Gloss., Cun thanks, to give or render thanks. 1883 Huddersf. Gloss., ‘I cum ye no thank’. [come v. 32.] |
(β) con thank(s: arch. and dial.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 45 Eilred sent tille Inglond Sir Edward his sonne With his letter sealed, & þanke wild he þam conne. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour B vj, He shal conne her thanke. 1530 Palsgr. 475/1, I have conned hym good thanke: je luy ay sceu bon gré. 1627 Wren Serm. bef. King 30, I will kon them small thanks. 1672 Marvel Reh. Transp. i. 31 Which none called him to, and..none conn'd him thanks for. 1691 Ray North-C. Words Pref., Of common and general use in most counties of England..To cun, or con thanks; to give thanks. 1721–1800 Bailey, Conn..to give, as I conn thanks. a 1734 North Lives III. 140 We conned our thanks and came away. 1824 in Jamieson. |
[‘I am sure, I con you thanks’ was said to me by an old man in London in 1880. J.A.H.M.] † b. So to (cun) con gree or malgre: to express one's satisfaction or displeasure [F. savoir gré]; also, to cun grame (= indignation), con laud. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17659 (C. & G.) All we cund [v.r. coude, cowde] þe mekil grame For þu grof iesu licame. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 959 No maugre þou þeym cone Þaw þey wolde in fredom wone. c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 990 And ye kun me na mawgré. c 1450 Merlin xxvii. 505 Yef I wiste the kynge Looth wolde conne me no magre. Ibid. xxvii. 529 That thei may conne you gree. c 1500 Melusine 108 In such wise that ye shall conne me good gree & thanke therfore. 1602 Queen Elizabeth in Moryson Itin. ii. iii. i. (1617) 228 We con you many laudes for hauing so neerely approched the villainous Rebell. |
† 5. To cause to learn; to teach. Obs. rare.
| 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. xii. 206 In many secret skills shee had been cond her lere. |
▪ III. con, conne, cun, v.2
(kʌn, kɒn)
[app. a weakened form of cond used in same sense. (Some think it has been associated with con, v.1 As a possible connexion, the following has been cited:
1393 Gower Conf. I. 59 They conne nought here shippes stere, i.e. They know not how to steer their ships.)]
trans. To direct the steering of (a ship) from some commanding position on shipboard.
| 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 28 Cun the ship spoune before the winde. 1627 ― Seaman's Gram. ix. 41 He that doth cun the ship cannot haue too much iudgement. 1657 R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 120 The Quarter Master that Conns the Ship above. 1671 Lond. Gaz. No. 580/2 The Officer that cund the ship. 1721–1800 Bailey s.v., To Cun a Ship, is to direct the Person at Helm how to steer her. 1829 Blackw. Mag. XXVI. 730 Shoals, through which the 'Mudian pilot cunned the ship with great skill. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xxiii. 185 Our captain, who was conning the ship from the fore-top-sail yard. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Conn, Con, or Cun, as pronounced by seamen. 1883 Stevenson Treasure Isl. iii. xiii. (1886) 104 Long John stood by the steersman and conned the ship. |
b. absol. To give sailing directions to the steersman.
| 1699 W. Dampier Voy. II. 64 The ship by the mistake of him that con'd, broched too. 1751 Smollett Per. Pic. Wks. 1797 III. 11 You did not steer; but howsomever, you cunned [ed. 1779 canned] all the way. |
c. fig.
| 1648 Earl Westmoreland Otia Sacra (1879) 163 He onely happy is, and wise, Can Cun his Barque when Tempests rise. 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. (1873) 129 Do we not sometimes con our voyage by..the firm headlands of truth. |
Hence ˈconning, ˈcunning vbl. n.
| 1626 Capt. Smith Accid. Yng. Seamen 1 The Maister is to see the cunning [of] the Ship. 1853 Kane Grinnell Exp. xi. (1856) 78 Now commences the process of ‘conning’. |
▪ IV. con, conn, v.3 dial. ? Obs.
[cf. F. cogner to knock on a nail or the like in order to drive it in; to strike one with anything, to knock; pop. to beat, thrash. cf. con n.2]
| 1721–1800 Bailey, Conn..to strike with the Fist. 1825 Brockett Gloss. N.C. Wds., Con, to fillip. |
▪ V. con, v.4 (pa. tense)
var. of can v.2 = gan, began to, did: q.v.
▪ VI. con, conn, n.1
(kʌn, kɒn)
[f. con v.2]
The action or post of conning a ship, steerage.
| 1825 H. B. Gascoigne Nav. Fame 95 'Tis ours to give directions by the Con. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xxix, He was at his station at the conn. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. s.v. Conn, The quarter-master..stands beside the wheel at the conn. |
▪ VII. con, n.2
(kɒn)
[Cf. con v.3, and F. cogner = frapper.]
A rap with the knuckles, a knock, a fillip.
| 1620 Shelton Quix. III. xxvi. 182 He rates him, as if he meant to give him half a dozen Cons [media docena de coscorrones] with his Sceptre. 1845 Disraeli Sybil 285 A fellow in a blue coat fetches you the Devil's own con on your head. 1878 H. C. Adams Wykehamica 420 Con, a smart tap on the head administered generally with the knuckles. |
▪ VIII. con, n.3 north. dial.
(kɒn)
A squirrel.
| a 1600 J. Burel Pilgremer in Watson Coll. Poems ii. 20 (Jam.) There wes the pikit Porcapie. The cunning and the Con [Lat. vers. (1631) sciurus] all thrie. 16.. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae (Hart's ed. 1615) iii, I saw..The Con [not in ed. 1597] the Cuning and the Cat, Quhais dainty Downs with Dew were wat. 1781 Hutton Tour Caves Gloss. (E.D.S.), Con, a squirrel. 1821 Lonsdale Mag. II. 124 (Lanc. Gloss.) Our young friend dissipated our fears by telling us that con was only the provincial name for a squirrel. 1869 in Lonsdale Gloss. 1878 in Cumbrld. Gloss. |
▪ IX. con, n.4
a. A familiar or slang abbreviation of certain words, as confidant, conundrum, conformist, contract.
| 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy I. 30 We were soon the most inseparable cons. 1841 Fraser's Mag. XXIII. 59 Pun, riddles, cons, etc. are low. 1882 Banner (newspr.) To what denomination the family belongs, whether they are Cons or Noncons. 1889 Pall Mall G. 24 Aug. 2/1 About the ‘contract system’..The men get some ‘con’, as they call it, or ‘plus’ pay, but for every penn'orth of ‘con’ the contractor gets two penn'orth of work out of them. |
b. Abbrev. of confidence. Used attrib. in con game, con man, con talk, etc. (Also ellipt.) orig. U.S.
| 1889 Portland (Oregon) Mercury 29 June 1/7 It does not take an unsophisticated countryman to get swindled by the ‘con man’. 1896 G. Ade Artie i. 5 He was..puttin' up the large juicy con talk. Ibid. 8 Not that I'm strong on the con talk. Ibid. xiv. 131 If they wanted me to be president o' the whole shootin' match, I'd..grow some side-whiskers and put up as tall a con game as that old stiff we've got there now. 1901 J. Flynt World of Graft 100 ‘It's mine,’ I said... ‘They took the con.’ 1902 L. Mead How Words Grow (1907) 165 ‘A con’ is an abbreviation of confidence man. 1903 N.Y. Sun 30 Nov. 7 Two sailors say he worked the ‘con’ game on them. 1911 H. Quick Yellowstone N. xii. 318 The cinnersure of the eye of every sure-thing or con-man on South Halsted street. 1925 E. Wallace King by Night xxxvi. 162 A burglar is a burglar, and never goes in for the ‘con’ game. 1928 ― Gunner ii. 24 Sam Larber, the con. man. Ibid. xxviii. 224 He's never done anything except con. work. 1935 Auden & Isherwood Dog beneath Skin i. 33 From con-man and coiner protect and bless. 1940 D. W. Maurer (title) The Big Con. 1951 J. B. Priestley Fest. Farbridge ii. ii. 310 You're a little gang of crooks, con types living on your wits. 1960 Observer 25 Dec. 7/6 Various petty fiddles and con games to which Christmas trading lent itself. 1961 J. Wain Weep before God 23, I could forgive Even the worst, the con. men who harangue Their fellow artists. 1967 Listener 21 Dec. 821/1 The intellectual theoreticians of visual pop culture have succeeded..in pulling a con. |
c. In Criminals' slang, abbrev. of convict n.1, conviction.
| 1893 in J. Hawthorne Confess. Convict 11 Prisoners are known as ‘con’, which is short for convict, and the whole body of prisoners is designated ‘condom’—short for convictdom. 1925 N. Lucas Autobiogr. Crook xvii. 231 ‘Got any cons?’ he said. ‘I beg your pardon.’ ‘Cons—bin lagged afore?’ 1926 J. Black You can't Win xix. 279 The other ‘cons’ will blackmail me. 1936 J. Curtis Gilt Kid xxvii. 266 For this breaking and entering lark at least eighteen months for a man with two cons... It was going to make four convictions for him. 1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights iii. 99, I had three realy good friend among the con's. Ibid. 152, I already had two con's and had only been out of the nick a few weeks. |
d. Abbrev. of construe n.
| 1905 H. A. Vachell Hill iii, We must mug up our ‘cons’ well enough to scrape along without ‘puns’ and extra school. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 17 Dec. 11/1 He ‘skewed’ his ‘cons’ and ‘reps’. 1910 R. Brooke Let. 25 Feb. (1968) 221 Many thanks for the con. |
Hence (from sense b) con v.5 trans., to persuade, to speak persuasively to; to dupe, to swindle. orig. U.S.
| 1896 G. Ade Artie iv. 35 Don't try to con me with no such talk. 1899 ― Fables in Slang 90 The Property Man gave it as his opinion that Mansfield conned the Critics. 1908 G. H. Lorimer J. Spurlock v. 103 The detective began to get a little angry. ‘You've been conned, Miss Grey... He's all to the bad.’ 1917 C. Mathewson Sec. Base Sloan xiv. 196 Don't let anyone con you into signing a contract. 1932 ‘Jock of Dartmoor’ Dartmoor from Within viii. 241, I..laugh—loud and long. ‘Conned’—‘conned’ by a pair of kids. I, the wise guy,..‘conned’ by one of..[Nobby's] pupils on my very first night of freedom. 1961 ‘B. Wells’ Day Earth caught Fire vii. 112 Some crack-pot had conned the news⁓room into believing that smells coming up from the rhino and elephants that haunt that territory were causing pollution in the air breathed in Nigeria. 1962 Listener 26 Apr. 745/1 This mild tale of a shy boy conned into giving a girl a fortune. 1967 M. Reynolds After Some Tomorrow 7 Nobody can gamble it away from me or con me out of it. |
▪ X. con, adv. (n.)
(kɒn)
An abbreviation of the L. prep. contra ‘against’, in the phrase pro and con (q.v.) ‘for and against’, rarely con and pro.
A. as adv.
| c 1470 [see contra]. 1572 R. H. tr. Lavaterus' Ghostes To Rdr. (1596) A ij, The matter throughly handled Pro and Con. 1667 Denham Direct. to Painter i. xix, May Historians argue con and pro. 1819 Byron Let. to Murray 25 Jan., The rest..has never yet affected any human production ‘pro or con’. |
B. n. The adv. used as a name for itself; hence, a reason, argument, or arguer against, esp. in pros and cons.
| 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 20 Such a quoile about pro and con, such vrging of Ergoes. a 1625 Fletcher Nice Valour iii. ii, Now for the Con. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 231 Whole Tomes of Pro's and Con's. 1872 W. Minto Eng. Lit. ii. ix. 572 He then proceeds to state the pros and cons. |
▪ XI. ‖ con, prep.
Italian:—L. cum with, appearing in certain phrases, as con amore, q.v.; esp. in musical directions,
e.g. con affetto with feeling, con brio with spirit and force, con delicatezza with delicacy, con delirio with frenzy, con expressione with expression, con fuoco with fire, con moto with spirited movement, con spirito with spirit, etc.
▪ XII. con
obs. f. cone.