cognate

adjective cog·nate \ ˈkäg-ˌnāt \

Updated on: 20 Mar 2018

Definition of cognate

1 : of the same or similar nature : generically alike

the cognate fields of film and theater

2 : related by blood

a family cognate with another

; also : related on the mother's side

3 a : related by descent from the same ancestral language

Spanish and French are cognate languages.

b of a word or morpheme : related by derivation, borrowing, or descent

English "eat" and German "essen" are cognate.

c of a substantive : related to a verb usually by derivation and serving as its object to reinforce the meaning (such as song in "she sang a song")

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cognately

adverb

See cognate defined for English-language learners

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Examples of cognate in a Sentence

English “eat” and German “essen” are cognate.
Spanish and French are cognate languages.

Origin and Etymology of cognate

Latin cognatus, from co- + gnatus, natus, past participle of nasci to be born; akin to Latin gignere to beget — more at kin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1645

See Words from the same year

Other Language Terms

cognate, collocation, homonym

cognate

noun

Definition of cognate

: one that is cognate with another

"Eat" and "essen" are cognates.

Recent Examples of cognate from the Web

And though there’s debate about where the bean first appeared, there’s little dispute that the word coffee is a cognate of qahwah, the Arabic word for both the bean and drink.

— hasan dudar, Detroit Free Press, "Beans from war-torn Yemen find a home in Dearborn coffee shop," 13 Jan. 2018
That Hulu show was the evening’s big winner because its insane prophecy is the Left’s cognate to the broadcasts of those TV pastors who draw an endless pool of suckers by selling the notion that Judgment Day is surely right around the corner.

— kyle smith, National Review, "Trump-Trolling Emmys Serve Up Evening of Lowlights," 18 Sep. 2017
Like cognates between English and Spanish (which are due in part to their common descent from the Indo-European language family), there are similarities between Miami and other Algonquian languages.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "How to Resurrect a Lost Language," 19 Apr. 2017
Overlooking Central Park, the restaurant was pitched as the Manhattan cognate of the French Laundry.

— gabe ulla, Town & Country, "Can Thomas Keller Turn Around Per Se?," 8 Sep. 2016
Between Catawba and English, there are few cognates, and some sounds are foreign to the English tongue.

— john paul brammer, NBC News, "Native American Two Spirit Fights to Keep Tribe’s Language Alive," 8 May 2017
Like cognates between English and Spanish (which are due in part to their common descent from the Indo-European language family), there are similarities between Miami and other Algonquian languages.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "How to Resurrect a Lost Language," 19 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cognate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.