Definition of COGNATE

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Adjective

The story of "cognate" is all relative: that is, it's all about relatives. Cognate words share an ancestor, like "allude" and "prelude" (which both trace to the Latin root ludere) and the English "brother" and the German Bruder (which are both related to the Greek phrater). Cognate languages, like French, Spanish, and Italian, descend from the same ancestral language. People related through a common ancestor are cognate, and groups of people, such as tribes, can be cognate to one another. "Cognate" also describes things related in a more figurative way, as in "cognate developments," "cognate disciplines," or "cognate problems." "Cognate" itself comes from the Latin cognatus which traces to Latin nasci meaning "to be born." Some words cognate to "cognate" include "innate," "nascent," "native," and "Renaissance."

Examples of cognate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun 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.