Main Entry: ¹con·ju·gate

Pronunciation: \ˈkän-ji-gət, -jə-ˌgāt\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English conjugat, from Latin conjugatus, past participle of conjugare to unite, from com- + jugare to join, from jugum yoke — more at yoke

Date: 15th century

1 a : joined together especially in pairs : coupled b : acting or operating as if joined
2 a : having features in common but opposite or inverse in some particular b : relating to or being conjugate complex numbers <complex roots occurring in conjugate pairs>
3 of an acid or base : related by the difference of a proton <the acid NH₄⁺ and the base NH₃ are conjugate to each other>
4 : having the same derivation and therefore usually some likeness in meaning <conjugate words>
5 of two leaves of a book : forming a single piece

— con·ju·gate·ly adverb

— con·ju·gate·ness noun