cognate

[ kog-neyt ]
See synonyms for: cognatecognates on Thesaurus.com

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.

  1. allied or similar in nature or quality.

noun
  1. a person or thing cognate with another.

  2. a cognate word: The English word cold is a cognate of German kalt.

Origin of cognate

1
1635–45; <Latin cognātus, equivalent to co-co- + -gnātus (past participle of gnāscī, nāscī to be born)

Other words from cognate

  • cog·nate·ness, noun
  • cog·nat·ic [kog-nat-ik], /kɒgˈnæt ɪk/, adjective
  • non·cog·nate, adjective, noun

Words Nearby cognate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cognate in a sentence

  • The words genius and genie are evidently cognate with the Arabian jinn, meaning a spirit.

    Archaic England | Harold Bayley
  • Hear how many cognate ideas present themselves to Shakspeare's mind in expressing the thought.

  • The intransitive form derives from the transitive by dropping a generalized, customary, reflexive or cognate object.

    Instigations | Ezra Pound

British Dictionary definitions for cognate

cognate

/ (ˈkɒɡneɪt) /


adjective
  1. akin; related: cognate languages

  2. related by blood or descended from a common maternal ancestor: Compare agnate

  1. cognate object grammar a noun functioning as the object of a verb to which it is etymologically related, as in think a thought or sing a song

noun
  1. something that is cognate with something else

Origin of cognate

1
C17: from Latin cognātus, from co- same + gnātus born, variant of nātus, past participle of nāscī to be born

Derived forms of cognate

  • cognately, adverb
  • cognateness, noun
  • cognation, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012