con/a--glomerate

Hi,

These words can be used as nouns / verbs /adjectives. They have specialized geological meanings, as well as more common meanings.

conglomerate means to collect together into a mass where the parts are separate but well stuck together. We commonly refer to a business witn many different subsidiary companies as a conglomerate.

Hi Clive,

I would assume that the two words are 'opposite' only in the sense of the order/disorder among their stuck-together parts. I believe the two terms are considered similar, in respect to the fact that both conglomerates and agglomerates are comprised of parts that retain separate identities.

Hey Clive.

Yes, as I thought, the difference is hidden in the texture or order of the 'lump'.

"I looked it up and it means a mass where the parts are stuck together in a disorderly kind of way. It's the opposite of conglomerate."

I suppose you didn't mean by this they're complete antonyms...Just the so called sub-meaning a but differs methink

Hi,

Yes, opposite in that sense. The oppositeness lies in the prefixes, from Latin, where con is 'with' and a is 'from'.

We see this pairing in other words, such as congregate and aggregate. Interestingly, t

'Agglomeration' and 'conglomeration' would be very useful critical terms for an artist working with collage. Hey, that's me!

Hi,

I think 'glomus' is Latin for 'a ball', so you'd really have to be making something rounded, so perhaps aggregate/congregate would be better for a flat surface.

Hey, let's congregate for a drink sometime. We'll have a glomus (glomum?). Clive

I think 'glomus' is Latin for 'a ball'

Excellent point, Clive. 'Aggregate' and 'congregate' are more appropriate to flat work.

When I've taught a studio class in collage, however, I always approached the word ('collage') as a principle of organization. That approach allowed students of various disciplines, like sculpture, film, painting, even some

Thank you everybody I got it!