Cognate Meaning
/ˈkɒɡn(e)ɪt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjAllied by blood; kindred by birth; specifically (law) related on the mother's side.
adjOf the same or a similar nature; of the same family; proceeding from the same stock or root.
Sentence Examples
The English language is cognate to the German language.
I suppose that even Wolof and Greenlandic may share a cognate.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The word 'mother' is a ____ of the Latin 'mater' in many languages.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a word that has the same linguistic derivation.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin cognātus (“related by blood”), from co- + gnātus (“born”). Compare Portuguese cognato and Spanish cognado. Doublet of connate and cognatus.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This explanation provoked further great hilarity among the members of the committee. And the frankness was admired by many with which Louit, on his return, confessed to having found, in the course of his excursion, three barns in all, of which two contained empty bottles and the third the skeleton of a goat. But in other quarters this and cognate statements were viewed in another and less friendly light."
— 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt, [Paris]: Olympia Press, →OCLC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The word 'mother' is a ____ of the Latin 'mater' in many languages.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a word that has the same linguistic derivation.