Meanings
plural cogitations
- uncountableThe process of cogitating; contemplation, deliberation, reflection, meditation.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-
- Proto-Italic*agō“to drive, impel”
- Latincōgitō“to turn over in the mind; think, consider, ponder, meditate”
- Vulgar Latincōgitātiō, cōgitātiōnem
- Old Frenchcogitaciun
- Middle Englishcogitacioun
- Medieval Latincogitatio, cogitationis
- Englishcogitation
Latinism, likely a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin cogitatio, cogitationis, possibly influenced by or displacing an earlier doublet of cogitacion inherited from Middle English cogitacioun, from an Old French cogitaciun, from Vulgar Latin cōgitātiō, cōgitātiōnem; compare Middle French cogitatiun, French cogitation. All ultimately from verbal construction cōgitātus + -iō, from the perfect passive participle of Latin cōgitō (“to turn over in the mind; think, consider, ponder, meditate”), frequentative verb from con- (“together, with”) + agitō (“to put in constant motion, drive at something; devise, plot, contrive”), root from Proto-Italic *agō (“to drive, impel”) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.
More words from Medieval Latin, Middle English, Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian размишление
- размишление (razmišlenie)process of cogitating
Catalan cogitació
- cogitacióprocess of cogitating
French cogitation
- cogitationprocess of cogitating
Italian cogitazione
- cogitazioneprocess of cogitating
Latin cogitatio
- cogitatioprocess of cogitating
Portuguese cogitação
- cogitaçãoprocess of cogitating
Spanish cogitación
- cogitaciónprocess of cogitating
Cite this entry
cogitation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cogitation
“cogitation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cogitation. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cogitation,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cogitation.
Source: cogitation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.