Present participle of join; the act of connecting, combining, or becoming a member of something.
From Old French joindre, from Latin iungere 'to yoke together, unite.' Originally referred to physical yoking of animals, extending to any form of connection or union. The root gives us 'junction,' 'conjugate,' and 'adjoin.'
Joining etymologically connects to yoking oxen together - every time we join a club, join hands, or join forces, we're linguistically reenacting the ancient agricultural practice of binding work animals into cooperative units. This farming metaphor embedded in our language reveals how deeply agricultural cooperation shaped human social concepts.
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