[1660–70; ‹ L congrātulānt- (s. of congrātulāns, prp. of congrātulārī), equiv. to con- con- + grātul- (grāt-, s. of grātus pleasing + -ul- adj. suffix) + -ant- -ant]This word is first recorded in the period 1660–70. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: adhesive, aspirate, cantilever, joke, saturatedcon- is a prefix meaning “with,” “together,” “in association,” and (with intensive force)“completely”. Other words that use the affix con- include: congress, connect, contact, content, convert; -ant is a suffix forming adjectives and nouns from verbs, occurring originally in Frenchand Latin loanwords (pleasant; constant; servant) and productive in English on this model; -ant has the general sense “characterized by or serving in the capacity of” that namedby the stem (ascendant; pretendant), esp. in the formation of nouns denoting human agents in legal actions or otherformal procedures (tenant; defendant; applicant; contestant). In technical and commercial coinages, -ant is a suffix of nouns denoting impersonal physical agents (propellant; lubricant; deodorant). In general, -ant can be added only to bases of Latin origin, with a very few exceptions, as coolant