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recognizance

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Etymology and origin of the English word recognizance

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1325 before 1325, Statutes of the Realm More words from the 14th century
Borrowed from
Anglo-Norman reconisance via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin cognōscō

Pronunciation

  • UK: /rɪˈkɒɡnɪz(ə)nts/, /rɪˈkɒɡnɪz(ə)ns/[1]
  • US: /rɪˈkɑːɡnɪz(ə)nts/, /rɪˈkɑːɡnɪz(ə)ns/[1]

Forms

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English reconisaunce, also recognisaunce,[2][3][4] borrowed from Anglo-Norman reconisance, with Old French reconissance, also reconoissance,[3][2][5] now French reconnaissance,[3][5] from reconoissant, the present participle of reconoistre (“to recognize”), with the suffix -ance.[3][6][7] That verb is from Latin recognōscō (“to know again, recognize”), from re- and cognōscō (“to know”).[6][5] The -g- spelling, which eventually displaced reconisaunce, is attributed to Medieval Latin recognizō,[8] to Old French recognuissance,[4] or to the influence of recognize.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A bond entered into before a court, and also an inquiry by a jury: both before 1325, in the Statutes of the Realm.[3] Etymonline dates reconisaunce to the early 14th century,[5] and Barnhart cites recognisanze from the Rolls of Parliament of 1414, with the earlier form recorded before 1325.[4]

Semantic evolution

The word came into English as a legal term, already used in Anglo-Norman for verdicts, inquiries and surety in the 13th century.[3] Chaucer has it once, as reconyssaunce, in the sense of a pledge.[9] From before 1400 it was also used of an acknowledgement of allegiance or subjection,[3][2][5] and later of acknowledgement in general;[3] Caxton used it in 1490 for recognizing someone or something already known, and in 1477 for the badge by which a person is recognized.[3] Between about 1436 and 1650 it could mean "knowledge, understanding".[3][2] In general use the word is now rare or obsolete, replaced by recognition.[10][11] The phrase on one's own recognizance, of a prisoner released on his or her own undertaking, is recorded from 1689 in the OED,[3] but only from 1814 in Etymonline.[5] A spelling reconnoissance was last used for a binding obligation in 1672, according to Barnhart.[4] A verb "to recognize" is recorded only in 1657.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1325 – a legal bond or obligation; also an inquiry by jury or its verdict (obsolete by 1852).[3]
  • before 1400 – acknowledgement of allegiance or subjection.[3][2]
  • c. 1436 – knowledge, understanding (obsolete by 1650).[3][2]
  • 1477 – a badge or token by which someone is recognized.[3]
  • 1490 – recognition of a person or thing as already known.[3]
  • 1689 – on one's own recognizance.[3] Etymonline dates the phrase to 1814.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (law) A bond entered into before a court or magistrate, binding a person to do something, such as appear in court, keep the peace or pay a debt.[10][7][3]
  2. (law) The sum pledged and forfeited if such an obligation is not met.[10][7][11]
  3. on one's own recognizance: released from custody without bail, on one's own undertaking to appear.[3][5]
  4. (rare) Recognition or acknowledgement of a person or thing.[11][3]
  5. (archaic) A badge or emblem by which a person may be recognized.[11][3]
  6. (obsolete, c. 1436–1650) Knowledge, understanding.[3][2]
  7. (obsolete, before 1325–1852) (law) An inquiry by a jury, or its verdict.[3][11]

Word family

  • recognizant

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  11. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Recognizance.” Etymologically, 6 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/recognizance. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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