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cognate

Etymology and origin of the English word cognate

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈkɒɡn(e)ɪt/ (UK); /ˈkɑɡn(e)ɪt/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cognatus (“of common descent, related by blood”),[2][3][4][5][6] from Latin co- (“together”) + gnatus (“born”),[2][3][4][5] gnātus being the past participle of gnāscī, the older form of nāscī “to be born”.[2][3][4][5][6] Barnhart suggests the influence of French cognat.[3] It is related to nation, native and kin.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Related by family or origin; descended from a common ancestor (about 1645).[3][4][5][7]

Semantic evolution

Of things the adjective meant akin in origin or nature from the 1640s.[4][7] It was applied to words that come from the same root but developed separately by 1782,[4] and to languages descended from the same parent language by 1799.[4] The noun, one related to another by blood, is from 1754.[3][4][5] Etymonline notes that cognates are more like cousins than siblings, since they develop in different languages.[4]

Timeline

  • late 14th century – cognation, kinship.[4]
  • about 1645 – related by family or origin.[3][5][7]
  • 1754 – noun, a blood relation.[3][4][5]
  • 1782 – of words, from the same root.[4]
  • 1799 – of languages, from the same parent.[4]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Related by blood; having a common ancestor.
  2. Of words or languages, descended from the same ancestral form, as English name and Latin nōmen.
  3. Related or similar in nature, character or function.
  4. In grammar, of a noun, related to the verb it serves as object of, as a dream in dream a dream.

Noun

  1. A person related to another by blood, especially through a common ancestor.
  2. A word related in origin to a word in another language.

Word family

  • cognation
  • cognately
  • cognateness
  • noncognate
  • cognate object
  • nation
  • native
  • kin
  • agnate

Usage notes

Wiktionary notes that cognate to is much less common than cognate with.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Cognate.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/cognate. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·