Etymologically
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recognition

Etymology and origin of the English word recognition

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1450
Borrowed from
Middle French recognition via Middle English
Ultimate origin
Latin (recognitio)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌrek.əɡˈnɪʃ.ən/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English recognicion, borrowed from Middle French recognition and directly from Latin recognitiō (“a reviewing, examination”),[2][3] from recognit-, past participle stem of recognōscere “to acknowledge, know again; examine”,[2][3] the source of recognize.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Knowledge of an event, understanding: about 1450 in Barnhart, the mid-15th century in Etymonline.[3][2] In Scots law, the resumption of lands by a feudal lord, 1473 in the OED.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Acknowledgement of a person's right to property is from about 1460.[3] Revision of a text is from 1568, now obsolete.[5] Acknowledgement of a service or kindness is from the 1560s (1570 in the OED),[2][5] and acknowledgement as true or valid from 1570 in Barnhart and 1597 in the OED.[3][5] Formal acknowledgement of a sovereign, or between governments, is from the 1590s,[2][5] and of a country's independence from 1824.[2][5] Knowing again, identifying someone or something seen before, is from 1798, in Wordsworth's Tintern Abbey.[3][2] The recognition scene of drama is by 1837.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1450 – knowledge.[3]
  • 1473 – Scots law.[5]
  • 1570 – acknowledgement as valid.[3]
  • 1590s – formal acknowledgement of a sovereign.[2]
  • 1798 – knowing again.[3][2]
  • 1824 – recognition of a state.[2][5]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The act of knowing someone or something because one has seen or heard them before.
  2. Acceptance that something is true, legal or important.
  3. Public praise and thanks for someone's work.
  4. Formal acceptance of a government or country by another.

Word family

  • recognitory
  • recognitional
  • self-recognition
  • nonrecognition
  • optical character recognition
  • speech recognition
  • pattern recognition

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Recognition.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/recognition. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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