cognoscens
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Forms
cognōscēns m (genitive cognōscentis); third declension[1][2]
Etymology
It is the present participle of cognōscō (“to get to know; to investigate”), used as a noun.[1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's first example of the noun is in Quintilian, where each member of a court wants the opinion of his fellow judges to be firm.[1]
Semantic evolution
It belongs to the legal use of cognōscō for a judicial investigation: the cognoscens is the one who examines a case.[1] Tacitus speaks of the clemency of the judge coming to the aid of those in danger, and Pliny the Younger of the judges' sense of justice flagging from weariness;[1] Ulpian uses it in the Digest.[1]
Timeline
- c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of the members of a court.[1][4]
- 98–115 AD – Tacitus speaks of the clemency of the judge.[1][4]
- before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it in legal writing.[1][4]
Meanings
Noun
- (law) One who conducts or takes part in a judicial investigation; an inquisitor, a judge.[1]
Usage notes
As a participle used as an adjective it means “getting to know”: the Rhetorica ad Herennium has cognoscens sui, “knowing himself”.[2][5]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.