Dear Word Detective: What is the origin of the word “conn”? I think I first heard the word while watching Star Trek: “Number One, you have the conn.” Recently, the word has caught on around the office and the question “Who has the conn?” will often be heard. Sadly, most have never seen the word spelled, so they invariably will type “Who has the con”? I guess a second question would be which is preferred, “conn” or “con”? –Andy.
Are you sure about that? I always thought it was “Mister Sulu, you have the conn,” and that Number One was the actor you’d never seen before who beamed down to Altair Four with Kirk and Spock and then got eaten by a giant clam.
To “have the conn” means to be in charge or have the power of command. I tend to associate the term with movies made from Tom Clancy novels and similar he-man fare, so it’s a bit difficult to imagine “Who has the conn?” being widely used in any office where you’re not required to salute your boss. On the other hand, I’ve been working at home for many years, so maybe I’m unaware of a recent militarization of office life. I can’t say I’d be surprised, but I hope this doesn’t mean I have to buy little uniforms for the cats.
“Conn,” meaning the power to metaphorically steer the course of an endeavor or enterprise, comes from the literal use of that power. When “conn” (in the form “cun”) first appeared in English in the 17th century as a verb, it meant “to direct the steering or course of a ship,” usually from the bridge of the ship or its equivalent. Obviously, the captain of a ship has the primary responsibility for “conning” the vessel, but often delegates the “conn” (the noun appeared in the early 19th century) to subordinate officers. Early battleships actually had elevated “conning towers,” armored to protect the captain, et al., but today the same functions are usually carried out from a “conning station” on the ship’s bridge.
For a term redolent of the high seas and naval battles of yore, “conn” has a remarkably tame origin. “Conn” apparently arose as a variant form of the verb “cond,” also meaning “to direct the steering of a ship,” which in turn derived from the obsolete verb “condue,” meaning “to conduct or guide.” As you might suspect, “condue” itself ultimately harks back to the Latin “conducere” (to lead or guide), which also gave us our modern English “conduct.”
I assumed that “con” was short for “console”. But, seeing as how Star Trek pretty faithfully borrows from nautical terminology, this makes complete sense. By the way, “Number One” refers to the first officer onboard the Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. Yes, I am a geek.
Being a potentially older geek, I recalled Number One first being used to refer to Captian Christopher Pike’s first officer. This occured in “The Menagerie” episodes as a flash back.
In a complete OT:
I also found out the woman who played that part also played that part in the original un-aired pilot and was cast as Nurse Chapel in the first series. The actress, Majel Barrett, was the computer voice for many episodes in the original and NG. She was also married to Gene Roddenberry from ’69 until his death in ’91.
As a former submariner, and Quartermaster, I am intimately aquainted with this term (a QM in the Navy deals with navigation– http://www.qmss.com) .
Underway, the Officer of the Deck (OOD) is the Captain’s representative on watch, responsible for and overseeing everything that happens on board during his period of duty (watch). The person that has the conn, on the other hand, is responsible only for the movement of the ship, giving orders to the helmsman and consulting with the QM on watch as to what course and speed to steer so as to get where they’re going. The OOD can, and often does, have the conn as well: he will announce it to the control room (sub)/bridge (surface ship): “This is Lt. Jones, I have the Deck and the Conn.” The conn can be delegated to a junior officer for convenience or training: “This is Lt. Jones, and I have the Deck; Ensign Pulver has the Conn.” Pulver can then give orders to the helmsman (or rather, if he does give a helm order, now the helm will listen and obey it!).
Little niceties: the Captain can give a helm order, and in so doing automatically assumes the conn. He has to formally give it back to the OOD when he’s done playing. If you saw “Hunt For Red October,” you saw how it usually works: the Captain will tell the OOD what to do, and the OOD, as the conning officer, will actually give the order to the helmsman.
All this is part of the watch-to-watch chain of command, which is formalized so that no confusion results from random people walking by giving contradictory orders.
As for “Number One,” I believe, from my novel reading, that is a British Navy nickname for the second-in-command, what the USN calls the Executive Officer or XO (the Captain is called Commanding Officer or CO).
This was very informative. I got the definition I needed for having the conn, plus I was entertained along the voyage. Just a few things to add. Spock was “Number One” and the guy who was eaten by a clam was most likely to be someone named Ensign Sepulveda who was never seen again. And I found it interesting that Majel went from Number One to Nurse Chapel, and eventually Doctor Chapel. A medical officer is likely the only one who can outrank the Captain, so it was possible for her to be promoted from Number One to Nurse (in the future service)… even if it wasn’t the same character.
Thank you muchly!! I am watching the brand new “STAR TREK” (2009) on Blu-ray and heard the phrase that I have grown so familiar with, “Chekov, (or fill in the name) you have the COMM”. Through all these years, from the first episodes of the original Star Trek, I have always though the word being used was “COMM”, meaning COMMand!! However, this time I have the subtitles turned on and saw the word, “Conn”. I couldn’t believe that all these years I was getting it wrong, and worse still, I couldn’t think of what “CONN” could mean? Control? Nope…only one “n”. I am amazed that I can turn from my laptop to my desktop, and type in the words “Star”, “Trek” and “Conn” in Google, and I immediately find my answer on your marvelous website!! I can’t imagine a world without Google and billions of websites like yours, where answers to just about any question, can be answered in the click of a mouse (or is that a blink of the eye?)!! Geeze! Thanks again…Joe
Wow – I 2nd what Joe S said, it’s amazing that I can stumble upon this info too, even though it’s several mos later (well, actually several yrs later from when it began).
And I pretty much went thru the same process as Joe…watching Star Trek movie on dvd, and I wasn’t sure if they said comm (which is what I thought it should be) or conn, so I turned on the captions and saw that it was “conn” and was totally surprised.
So thanks all for the info, and now I know it’s “conn” (not comm).
Ciao, Becca
In watching Naval movies ie Hunt for Red October, I inferred the word ‘con’ to be short for ‘control’ ie the xo (executive officer) has the con or control.
in reference with becca s and joe s—-ME TOO ME TOO….
Yes! Always thought it was comm, short for command as well. Thought it was an error the first time I saw conn written out. This was extremely informative and interesting. Thanks!
“Number one” refers to William Riker, the first officer of the Enterprise. I always thought that giving someone the conn referred to giving them control of the ship, as in actually piloting it. Wesley was the (occasional) pilot of the enterprise and Paris was the pilot of Voyage, and i constantly heard Picard or Janeway constantly “giving them the conn.” When a captain gave them the command of the ship, he gave them the HELM, as in “Data, you have the helm.” Thank you for the insightful info.
*the ship that Paris piloted was Voyager, not Voyage. Typing mistake…
Do you mind if I use you and this post as a source on my thesis? I will properly cite you.
You guys are somewhat right about the word “con” which is the same as “Conn”. However the real truth is within the english kabalah of pi, the moon, the sun, the hanged man, the hanged man. I can tell you it is “Conn Dynasty” a government of the dragon/serpent a god knowing both good and evil the original god of the world that sits on his throne, the guardian of the cosmic sap, tree of life. There is a Conn trumpet wakeup for everyone. All the facts are available by the book of “Keys In Space” by Dr. James H. Conn and yours truly. Now that you know about the real truth of the opposition seed from the beginning, now you can truly “C” “2″ the real evidence “2666.”. Misdirection was everything, do your own research.
God Bless,
The blood line seed of God.
It comes from an old old Naval expression, Derived from cunning,(having or showing skill in achieving one’s ends by evasion ) in reference to the skill of the master in manoeuvring his ship, especially in action. Thus we say, “You have the con,” when we exchange Officers of the Watch. Basically ” you have the cunning”
[I always thought it was “Mister Sulu, you have the conn,” and that Number One was the actor you’d never seen before who beamed down to Altair Four with Kirk and Spock and then got eaten by a giant clam.]
Altair IV was the planet in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. Number One beamed down to Talos IV with Pike and Spock, and I don’t recall her being eaten by a clam.
[By the way, By the way, “Number One” refers to the first officer onboard the Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. refers to the first officer onboard the Enterprise from “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.]
Actually “Number One” may be used to refer to the XO aka “1st” officer of any vessel but is informal and not required. Because it is informal, it is improper for anyone other than the captain to use it when addressing the 1st officer. ‘Mister/name’ however is the most popular form of address most captains use to address the XO.
[I recalled Number One first being used to refer to Captian Christopher Pike’s first officer. This occured in “The Menagerie” episodes as a flash back.
In a complete OT:
I also found out the woman who played that part also played that part in the original un-aired pilot and was cast as Nurse Chapel in the first series. The actress, Majel Barrett, was the computer voice for many episodes in the original and NG. She was also married to Gene Roddenberry from ‘69 until his death in ‘91.]
You got it half right. Majel Barrett did not also play the character in the unaired pilot and the Menagerie. The original footage from the unaired pilot was used in Menagerie. The executives wanted a low budget ‘clip show’ so Roddenberry wrote a script that utilized footage from the scraped pilot. To my knowledge Menagerie is one of only two clip shows that drew the stock footage solely from one episode. The other clip show that did this was also Star Trek. Trials and Tribble-ations, DS9 Season 5 Ep. 6. which used a time travel plot to incorporate footage from the OS episode ‘The trouble with tribbles’ The clip show for Next Generation was season 2 ep:22 “Shades Of Gray” And is considered one of the top five worst episodes of TNG. Also though it is commonly known that Roddenberry was dating Majil Barret during the show and later married her in Japan in 1969. A lot of people don’t know he was also dating Nichelle Nichols (Uhura). William Shatner claims that Roddenberry and the two women were in a three way relationship and engaged in Menage a trois. Nichelle Nichols denies this but has admitted to dating Roddenberry before he married Majil Barrett.
[You guys are somewhat right about the word “con” which is the same as “Conn”. However the real truth is within the english kabalah of pi, the moon, the sun, the hanged man, the hanged man. I can tell you it is “Conn Dynasty” a government of the dragon/serpent a god knowing both good and evil the original god of the world that sits on his throne, the guardian of the cosmic sap, tree of life. There is a Conn trumpet wakeup for everyone. All the facts are available by the book of “Keys In Space” by Dr. James H. Conn and yours truly. Now that you know about the real truth of the opposition seed from the beginning, now you can truly “C” “2? the real evidence “2666.”. Misdirection was everything, do your own research.]
?????? okaaay not touching that one. *slowly backs out of room*
For centuries misconception of D “The evil” has been pinned on God. by the Catholocism churches. They have always been liars since the beginning. N they think they can t there way through God, but God knowing good and evil has always been God since the beginning. Through Conn, of the Conn Lords the doors are opened, and he reigns. They even tell u not to worship God who is the Beast. Therefore Jesus Christ is a lie because he is not born of the lineage of Conn, the blood of the opposition lords. They call the God of creation in Genesis a liar in Revelation, and tell you not to worship the beast lol who is the blood of God, the seed of God since the beginning, the lineage of Lords, the God and lords of opposition who gave the gift of life, Judgement day before the God of opposition, and of course Heaven being with the father.. “Ye shall be as god”s” knowing good and evil.” Now you know the lineage of God who is Conn of opposition. Blessings be upon all who put their trust in him. So stick this message in the heart of the phony hypocrites that think they are worshiping God. Jesus Christ is of Adam, of the dust of the earth, and is not of the seed of Opposition, the blood line of God who is Conn, therefore hes a lie, the texts even tell u. Be aware that the symbols of Conn are through all things, and embeded in Genesis it was CONN the God of Heaven the C 666, who said “Let there be light.” It is the same blood line that runs from Genesis to Revelation. Gods face in the texts was bright as the sun, and people could not look upon his face without it blinding them, the mystery of time, and of course it answers 2012. The Ophiuchus, the cross in the sky in the center of the galaxy that will be re-aligning again. The galaxy centers around Conn, ask History Channel, and they will tell you, Conn is the key holder of all things, the blood line is an Avatar of God in Heaven. Now you know, the Cosmic sap. You guys are somewhat right about the word “con” which is the same as “Conn”. However the real truth is within the english kabalah of pi, the moon, the sun, the hanged man, the hanged man. I can tell you it is “Conn Dynasty” a government of the dragon/serpent a god knowing both good and evil the original god of the world that sits on his throne, the guardian of the cosmic sap, tree of life. There is a Conn trumpet wakeup for everyone. All the facts are available by the book of “Keys In Space” by Dr. James H. Conn and yours truly. Now that you know about the real truth of the opposition seed from the beginning, now you can truly “C” “2? the real evidence “2666.”. Misdirection was everything, do your own research. Of course people are scared of this topic and know that it is a scary thing to stand in the presence of God. However with this truth, rub it in peoples faces, the truth means responsibility. The church will only tell people what they want to hear, to keep robbing God, and have somebody of Adam as a god, who could never be God. Your either born of the seed of God or your of Adam, it is plain and simple, a monkey can figure out the meaning. So how about quit your BS of Jesus Christ of Adam, of your lovely begats, and lets all worship God of guidance, of opposition, of love, the beast, of C666. Now that is a trumpet wakeup for everyone. Copyrighted to “Conn Dynasty” : ISBN: 1449979408 / 9781449979409 available on Amazon, “Valley Chemical”, & “The Bright Star”.
There are many misconceptions dear friends, but they are wrong. Is not a D evil worshiping religion, it is a beautiful religion of being in tune to the world around you and being in center and one with yourself. Never get your self grounded in occults, always explore other paths.
Now you know the truth, never let one deceive you.
So mote it be, God Bless you,
Joshua Oleynik.
“You have the con” – i.e. conning tower, or, more simply “you have the watch” – this is a very old navy term
We have a small office and since we often have to cover for each other the phrase “You have the conn” has become quite common. Many of us either were (or grew up around)the military. We just take it as the norm – I have no idea how many Trek fans we have.
Actually a medical officer doesn’t outrank a captain, but is the only one who can relieve a captain of his/her duties (unless you can complete a mutiny). A nurse is not able to do this however as a nurse is not legally able to diagnose and a diagnosis of some type of incompetence is required to relieve a captain of duty. If I read the novels right Chappel is actually a Dr of nursing not a medical doctor. As she quoted you don’t get to be head nurse of the Federation flagship unless you are a doctor. In that time a doctor of nursing had his/her PhD. Now days there is a new doctorate which is designated DrNP or a Doctorate of Nurse Practitioner, and this person can diagnose and treat patients on their own.
I am a long-time devotee of Star Trek, and familiar with the use of the phrase “you have the con (or conn or com[m])” from various episodes and series.
However, I stumbled upon this site because I found the line “You have the con” in the novel “Shogun” by James Clavell, spoken by a Portuguese pilot to the hero Blackthorne in a story set in 1600. That was such a jarring line, so seemingly “out-of-time,” I had to investigate where the phrase came from. What I’ve found (via the Online Etymology Dictionary at etmonline.com) is that one meaning of “con” means “to guide ships,” from the 1620 Fr. “conduire” (to conduct, lead, guide). “Conning towers” were a feature on battleships and cruisers beginning about 1860, and were a place from which the ships were directed (later, submarines also have a conning tower within the sail). It’s not clear when a declarative statement like “you have the con” might have entered the venacular, but apparently (in one imagining) it will continue to be used on starships of the future.
But I still doubt those four words would have been spoken in Portuguese to an Englishman during a storm on an oar-driven ship in 1600. I think the character, or the author, must have been a Star Trek fan, too.