COLON. (I) In anatomy, part of the greater intestine (Gr. KOXov, from KOXos, curtailed (see ALIMENTARY CANAL). (2) Origi naliy in Greek rhetoric a short clause, hence a mark ( :) in punctuation, used to show a break greater than that marked by the semicolon ( ; ), and less than that marked by the full stop (Gr. Ke.3Xov, a member, or part). Applied in palaeography to a unit of measure in mss., amounting in length to a hexameter line.