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cognate

 - 3 dictionary results

cog⋅nate

[kog-neyt]
–adjective
1. related by birth; of the same parentage, descent, etc.
2. Linguistics. descended from the same language or form: such cognate languages as French and Spanish.
3. allied or similar in nature or quality.
–noun
4. a person or thing cognate with another.
5. a cognate word: The English word cold is a cognate of German kalt.

Origin:
1635–45; < L cognātus, equiv. to co- co- + -gnātus (ptp. of gnāscī, nāscī to be born)


cog⋅nate⋅ness, noun
cog⋅nat⋅ic [kog-nat-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To cognate
cog·nate   (kŏg'nāt')   
adj.  
  1. Related by blood; having a common ancestor.

  2. Related in origin, as certain words in genetically related languages descended from the same ancestral root; for example, English name and Latin nōmen from Indo-European *n-men-.

  3. Related or analogous in nature, character, or function.

n.  
  1. One related by blood or origin with another, especially a person sharing an ancestor with another.

  2. A word related to one in another language.


[Latin cognātus : co-, co- + gnātus, born, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
cog·na'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

cognate 
c.1645, from L. cognatus "of common descent," from com- "together" + gnatus, pp. of gnasci, older form of nasci "to be born." Words that are cognates are cousins, not siblings.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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