Conglomerate (pronounced kuhn-glom-er-it
or kuhng-glom-er-it (noun &
adjective) and kuhn-glom-uh-reyt or kuhng-glom-uh-reyt (verb))
(1) Anything
composed of heterogeneous materials or elements; mass.
(2) A
corporation consisting of a number of subsidiary companies or divisions in a
variety of unrelated industries, usually as a result of merger or acquisition.
(3) A
coarse-grained sedimentary rock consisting of round rock fragments cemented
together by hardened silt, clay, calcium carbonate, or a similar material. The
fragments (clasts) have a diameter of at least 2 mm (0.08 inches), vary in
composition and origin, and may include pebbles, cobbles, boulders, or
fossilized seashells. Conglomerates often form through the transportation and
deposition of sediments by streams, alluvial fans, and glaciers.
(4) Gathered
into a rounded mass; consisting of parts so gathered; clustered.
(5) Consisting
of heterogeneous parts or elements.
(6) Of
or relating to a corporate conglomerate.
(7) In
geology, of the nature of a conglomerate.
(8) To
bring together into a cohering mass.
(9) To
gather into a ball or rounded mass.
1565–1575:
From the Latin conglomerātus, past participle
of conglomerāre (to roll-up), from glomerāre (to wind into a ball), the
construct being con- + glomer- (stem of glomus) (ball of yarn or thread) + -ātus (-ate). The prefix con- was from the Middle
English con-, from the Latin con-, from the preposition cum (with), from the Old Latin com, from the Proto-Italic kom, from the primitive Indo- European ḱóm (next to, at, with, along). It was cognate with the Proto-Germanic ga- (co-), the Proto-Slavic sъ(n) (with)
and the Proto-Germanic hansō. It was used with certain words to add a
notion similar to those conveyed by with, together, or jointly or with certain
words to intensify their meaning and, later, to indicate being made from or
bringing together of several objects. The
suffix -ate was a word-forming element used in forming nouns from Latin words ending
in -ātus, -āta, & -ātum (such as estate, primate &
senate). Those that came to English via
French often began with -at, but an -e was added in the fifteenth century or
later to indicate the long vowel. It can
also mark adjectives formed from Latin perfect passive participle suffixes of
first conjugation verbs -ātus, -āta, &
-ātum (such as desolate, moderate
& separate). Again, often they were adopted
in Middle English with an –at suffix, the -e appended after circa 1400; a
doublet of –ee. Related
forms include conglomeratic, conglomeritic, conglomerated, conglomerating, conglomerateur,
conglomeration & conglomeratize.
Agglomerate (pronounced uh-glom-uh-reyt
(adjective & noun) and uh-glom-er-it
(noun))
(1) To
collect or gather into a cluster or mass.
(2)
Gathered together into a cluster or mass.
(3) In
botany, crowded into a dense cluster, but not cohering.
(4) In
geology, a mass of angular volcanic fragments united by heat; distinguished
from conglomerate.
(5) In
meteorology, an ice-cover of floe formed by the freezing together of various
forms of ice.
1675-1685:
From the Latin agglomerātus, past
participle of agglomerāre, the
construct being ad- (to) + -glomerāre (to wind or add into a ball),
from glomus (a ball; a mass), from globus (genitive glomeris), (a ball of
yarn) of uncertain origin. Related forms
are the adjective agglomerative, the nouns agglomerator & agglomeration and
the verbs (used with or without object), agglomerated & agglomerating. The intransitive sense "grow into a
mass" dates from 1730.
An agglomeration of Lindsay Lohan magazine covers.
