English
cognoscence
Cognoscence comes from Latin cognōscō ‘to know’, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’, and ultimately from *ǵneh₃-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti1‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō1‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscō1‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognōscō2as cognōscere‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognoscentia2
- Englishearliest quotation 1659cognoscence2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin cognosco
- 2 Wiktionary, English cognoscence
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1659, Henry More, London: […] J[ames] Flesher: “Beſides, there being that communication betwixt the Earth and…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱétiWiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskōWiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōWiktionary, Latin cognosco‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognōscōWiktionary, English cognoscenceas cognōscere‘to know’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEcognoscentiaWiktionary, English cognoscence
- Englishearliest quotation 1659cognoscenceWiktionary, English cognoscence. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1659, Henry More, London: […] J[ames] Flesher: “Beſides, there being that communication betwixt the Earth and…”
Equivalent to co- + gnōscere + -ence
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm ‘beside, near, by, with’
Proto-Italic *kom ‘with, along, at’
Proto-Italic *kom- ‘together’
English co-
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’
can, know, could, normal, narrative, glory, ignore, recognition, con, ken, keen, ignorant, norm, cunning, narration, canny, prognosis, connoisseur, canna, kith, uncouth, cun, gnosis, recognizance, 82 more
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’
diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 38 more
through Proto-Italic *gnōskō ‘to know, get to know’
denote, annotation, noblesse, ignoble, 32 more
through Latin gnōscō ‘to know’
note, notice, noble, notion, notorious, notation, nobility, notoriety, notary, cognition, acquaint, annotate, 32 more
through Latin cognōscō ‘to know’
recognize, cognitive, quaint, incognito, precognition, cognizance, 13 more
Today it means
noun Cognizance (awareness).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cognoscence”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin cognosco. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / cognoscence