reconhecer

Forms

reconhecer (first-person singular present reconheço, first-person singular preterite reconheci, past participle reconhecido)^[1] Old Galician-Portuguese wrote reconnocer, reconocer and reconecer;^[2][3][4] reconheceo appears in the 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin recognōscō (“to examine, review; to recognise”), written Old Galician-Portuguese reconnocer in the oldest texts.^[2][5][1][6] The Latin verb is formed from re- (“back, again”) and cognōscō (“to get to know”).^[7][1]

The same Latin word is Galician recoñecer, Spanish reconocer, Catalan reconèixer, French reconnaître and Italian riconoscere.^[1][8][9] The ending followed that of conhecer, whose old form Old Galician-Portuguese conhocer changed, according to Houaiss, by dissimilation of the two /o/ and under the influence of the suffix -ecer.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Charters of 1265 and 1268 have reconosco and me reconozco … por pagado “I acknowledge myself paid”, the sense “to acknowledge”.^[3][4] Houaiss's first record is in the Cantigas de Santa Maria: sempre reconnocesse a Virgen e a loasse “that he should ever acknowledge the Virgin and praise her”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Acknowledging a lord was a central medieval use (reconhecendoo por senhor in the Crónica Geral of 1344).^[3] Houaiss dates the sense “to admit as true” to the 15th century.^[2] Bluteau (1712–1728) gives the sense “to come to know” and examples of acknowledging an error, and Morais (1789) adds recognising what one had forgotten, acknowledging vassalage, declaring a bastard to be one's son, and examining a place.^[11][12] The modern senses also cover the legal recognition of a child, the recognition of a government, and gratitude for a favour.^[2][13]

Timeline

• 1265 – reconosco in a charter;^[3] me reconozco in 1268.^[3]
• 13th century – reconnocesse in the Cantigas de Santa Maria.^[2][3]
• 1301 – reconecer.^[2]
• 1344 – reconhecendoo por senhor in the Crónica Geral.^[3]
• 14th century – the spelling with ⟨nh⟩, reconheceo.^[2][5]
• c. 1430 – reconhecer in the Horto do Esposo.^[14]
• 15th century – the sense “to admit as true”.^[2]
• 1611 – Barbosa glosses Reconhecer with Latin recognosco.^[15]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To recognize; to know again someone or something seen before: reconheceu a antiga vizinha na rua.^[2][13][1]
2. (transitive) To identify by certain features: reconhecer alguém pelo andar.^[2][16]
3. (transitive) To acknowledge, admit as true, real or legitimate: reconhecer um erro.^[2][17][1]
4. (transitive) To explore or examine (a place); to reconnoitre.^[2][13]
5. (transitive) To show gratitude for: reconhecer a ajuda dos vizinhos.^[2][18]
6. (transitive, law) To recognise legally as one's child.^[2][16]
7. (transitive) To declare (a government, a signature) legitimate or authentic.^[13][18]
8. (pronominal) To see one's own image or features in someone or something; to confess oneself: reconhecer-se culpado.^[2][16]

Word family

• reconhecimento
• reconhecido
• reconhecível

Related words

• conhecer
• Latin recognosco
• Galician recoñecer
• Spanish reconocer

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. reconhecer
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. reconnocer
4. ^ a b c Instituto da Lingua Galega, Dicionario de dicionarios do galego medieval (DDGM), ed. Ernesto González Seoane, Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, https://ilg.usc.gal/ddgm, p. s.v. reconoçer
5. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. reconhecer
6. ^ García de Diego, Vicente (1985), Diccionario etimológico español e hispánico, 2nd ed., Madrid: Espasa-Calpe (1st ed. 1954), p. s.v. recognoscere
7. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. recognosco
8. ^ Real Academia Española; Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española (2014–), Diccionario de la lengua española, 23rd ed., online version 23.8, https://dle.rae.es, p. s.v. reconocer
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. reconnaître
10. ^ Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. conhecer
11. ^ Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. reconhecer
12. ^ Silva, António de Morais (1789), Diccionario da lingua portugueza composto pelo padre D. Rafael Bluteau, reformado, e accrescentado, 2 vols., Lisboa: Simão Thaddeo Ferreira, p. 2, 298
13. ^ a b c d Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. reconhecer
14. ^ Centro de Linguística da Universidade de Lisboa, CTA – Corpus de Textos Antigos, https://teitok.clul.ul.pt/cta, p. s.v. reconhecer
15. ^ Barbosa, Agostinho (1611), Dictionarium lusitanicolatinum, Braga: Fructuoso Lourenço de Basto (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. reconhecer
16. ^ a b c Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa, Lisboa: Priberam Informática, https://dicionario.priberam.org, p. s.v. reconhecer
17. ^ Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. reconhecer
18. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 7853