Word of the Day

: February 4, 2009

cognate

adjective KAHG-nayt

What It Means

1 : of the same or similar nature

2 : related; especially : related by descent from the same ancestral language

cognate in Context

Sean is a professor of astronomy whose background includes extensive work in the cognate fields of mathematics and physics.

Did You Know?

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."