Etymology

recognize

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Today it means: To match (something or someone which one currently perceives) to a memory of some previous encounter with the same person or thing. Full definition →

Middle French reconoistre ← Old French reconoistre ← Latin recognoscere
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recognize · verb1

  1. Latin · derived fromrecognoscere
  2. Old French · derived fromreconoistre
  3. Middle French · borrowed fromreconoistre
  4. English todayrecognize

Borrowed from Middle French reconoistre, from Old French reconoistre, from Latin recognoscere, first attested in the 16th century. Displaced native English acknow (“to recognize, perceive as”), compare German erkennen and Swedish erkänna. Latin had rare recognizare (“to try by jury”).

recognize · verb2

  1. Proto-Italic*wre-
  2. Latinre-
  3. Old Frenchre-
  4. Middle Englishre-
  5. Englishre-
  6. Englishcognize
  7. English todayrecognize

From re- + cognize.

Words from the same roots

Latinrecognoscere all →

reconnoitrereconnoiterrecognosce

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.