Etymograph

English

dignotion

Dignotion comes from Latin dignoscere ‘to distinguish’, from nōscō ‘to learn to know’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱéti1‘to recognise’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskō1‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscō1
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscō2as noscere‘to learn to know’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdignoscere2‘to distinguish’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1646dignotion2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin nosco
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English dignotion
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1646, /50, Sir Thomas Browne: “That temperamentall dignotions, and conjecture of prevalent humours, may…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, Latin nosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥h₃sḱétiWiktionary, Latin nosco‘to recognise’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gnōskōWiktionary, Latin nosco‘to know, get to know’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEgnōscōWiktionary, Latin nosco
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEnōscōWiktionary, English dignotionas noscere‘to learn to know’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdignoscereWiktionary, English dignotion‘to distinguish’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1646dignotionWiktionary, English dignotion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1646, /50, Sir Thomas Browne: “That temperamentall dignotions, and conjecture of prevalent humours, may…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’

can, could, know, normal, glory, narrative, ken, keen, con, recognition, ignore, norm, ignorant, cunning, prognosis, canny, narration, connoisseur, uncouth, canna, kith, recognizance, cun, gnosis, 83 more

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti ‘to recognise’

diagnostic, gnome, agnostic, 39 more

through Latin gnōscō

recognize, cognitive, quaint, denote, incognito, annotation, noblesse, ignoble, precognition, 29 more

through Latin nōscō ‘to learn to know’

note, notice, noble, notorious, nobility, notoriety, notary, cognition, notation, acquaint, cognizance, annotate, 24 more

Today it means

noun distinguishing mark; a diagnostic or dicernment

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “dignotion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin nosco. 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- / dignotion

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