Word of the Day

: April 29, 2008

cognizable

adjective KAHG-nuh-zuh-bul

What It Means

1 : capable of being judicially heard and determined

2 : capable of being known

cognizable in Context

The court determined that the plaintiff's claim of having received an unfair grade on the exam was not a legally cognizable action.

Did You Know?

It's easy to recognize the "cogni-" in "cognizable" and in other English words that have to do with knowing: "precognition," "incognito," "recognition," and "cognitive," for example. They're all from Latin "cognoscere" ("to know")."Cognizable" was formed in the 17th century from the root of "cognizance," which means "knowledge." "Cognizance" in turn traces to "cognoscere" by way of Anglo-French "conissance." "Cognizable" was used in the legal sense almost from its introduction, and that's the sense that is far and away the most common today.