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Origin and history of cognate

cognate(adj.)

1640s, "allied by blood, connected or related by birth, of the same parentage, descended from a common ancestor," from Latin cognatus "of common descent" (source also of Spanish cognado, Italian cognato), from assimilated form of com "together" (see co-) + gnatus, past participle of gnasci, older form of nasci "to be born" (from PIE root *gene- "give birth, beget").

Of things, "related in origin, traceable to the same source," by 1640s; specifically of words, "coming from the same root or original word but showing differences due to subsequent separate phonetic development," by 1782; of languages, "from the same original language," by 1799. French, Spanish, and Italian are cognate languages (all essentially descended from Latin) but are not cognate with Latin. English cognate, Spanish cognado and Italian cognato are cognate words from Latin cognatus. English brother, Sanskrit bhrtr-, Greek phratr, Latin frater, Russian brat are cognate words from the PIE root *bhrater. Words that are cognates are more like cousins than siblings; they develop in different languages.

Related: Cognatic; cognation (late 14c. in English as "blood-relationship, kinship"); cognateness. As a noun, "one connected to another by ties of kinship," from 1754.

also from 1640s

Entries linking to cognate

co-

in Latin, the form of com- "together, with" in compounds with stems beginning in vowels, h-, and gn-; see com-. Taken in English from 17c. as a living prefix meaning "together, mutually, in common," and used promiscuously with native words (co-worker) and Latin-derived words not beginning with vowels (codependent), including some already having it (co-conspirator).

*gene-

*genə-, also *gen-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "give birth, beget," with derivatives referring to procreation and familial and tribal groups.

It might form all or part of: Antigone; autogenous; benign; cognate; congener; congenial; congenital; connate; cosmogony; cryogenic; degenerate; engender; engine; epigone; eugenics; -gen; gendarme; gender; gene; genealogy; general; generate; generation; generic; generous; genesis; -genesis; genial; -genic; genital; genitive; genius; genocide; genotype; genre; gens; gent; genteel; gentile; gentle; gentry; genuine; genus; -geny; germ; german (adj.) "of the same parents or grandparents;" germane; germinal; germinate; germination; gingerly; gonad; gono-; gonorrhea; heterogeneous; homogeneous; homogenize; homogenous; impregnate; indigenous; ingenious; ingenuous; innate; jaunty; kermes; kin; kindergarten; kindred; king; kind (n.) "class, sort, variety;" kind (adj.) "friendly, deliberately doing good to others;" Kriss Kringle; malign; miscegenation; nada; naive; nascent; natal; Natalie; nation; native; nature; nee; neonate; Noel; oncogene; ontogeny; photogenic; phylogeny; pregnant (adj.1) "with child;" primogenitor; primogeniture; progenitor; progeny; puisne; puny; renaissance; theogony; wunderkind.

It might also be the source of: Sanskrit janati "begets, bears," janah "offspring, child, person," janman- "birth, origin," jatah "born;" Avestan zizanenti "they bear;" Greek gignesthai "to become, happen," genos "race, kind," gonos "birth, offspring, stock;" Latin gignere "to beget," gnasci "to be born," genus (genitive generis) "race, stock, kind; family, birth, descent, origin," genius "procreative divinity, inborn tutelary spirit, innate quality," ingenium "inborn character," possibly germen "shoot, bud, embryo, germ;" Lithuanian gentis "kinsmen;" Gothic kuni "race;" Old English cennan "beget, create," gecynd "kind, nature, race;" Old High German kind "child;" Old Irish ro-genar "I was born;" Welsh geni "to be born;" Armenian cnanim "I bear, I am born."