Etymologically
Log in

recognitio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 15:02. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

recognitiō f (genitive recognitiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin recognōscō (“to examine; to recognize”) + -tiō, a noun of action.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is in Livy, where much of the public land of Campania is recovered for the state through the consul Postumius' review of it.[1][3]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant a formal inspection or review: Columella says that frequent inspection leaves no hope of going unpunished,[1][3] Suetonius uses it of a review of the knights,[1][3] Seneca of self-examination (recognitio sui),[3][4] and Vitruvius of the duty of inspecting that had been given to him.[1] Gellius has it for knowing again, the mutual recognition of a man and a lion.[1][4]

In medieval law it named an inquest by sworn witnesses or a jury, the recognitio of twelve lawful men in English sources,[5][6] and also the renunciation of a claim, the acknowledgment of a lord's superior ownership and the due paid in token of it.[5] Renaissance humanists used it for the revision or edition of a text.[7]

Timeline

  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a consul's review of the public land.[1][8]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius speaks of a review of the knights.[1][8]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it for recognition.[1][8]
  • 1202 – An English plea asks for a recognition by the king's grand assize.[6]
  • mid-15th century – Borrowed into English as recognition.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A formal examination, inspection, review;[1][3][4] recognitio sui, self-examination.[1][3][4]
  2. The duty of inspecting.[1]
  3. Recognition, knowing again.[1][4][10]
  4. (Medieval Latin, law) An inquest by sworn witnesses or a jury.[5][6]
  5. (Medieval Latin) Renunciation of a claim; acknowledgment of superior ownership, or a due paid in acknowledgment of it.[5]
  6. (New Latin) A revision or edition of a text.[7]

Usage notes

In Cicero's Verrines (2.4.110) some manuscripts have recognitio, but the correct reading is recordatio.[3][4][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.