cognate means allied by blood; kindred by birth; specifically (law) related on the mother's side.
cognate is pronounced /ˈkɒɡn(e)ɪt/.
Why “cognate” is a great word
Descended from the same original lexical source, especially of words in different languages that share a common etymological ancestor. From the Latin cognātus, from co- ("together") + gnātus, past participle of nāscī ("to be born"), literally meaning "born together," first recorded in English 1635–45. Unlike connate, which describes innate qualities, or false friend, which signals deceptive similarity, a cognate is a true genealogical bond, a proven kinship of sound and sense. It is the quiet shock of recognition between the English mother, the German Mutter, and the Sanskrit mātṛ; the silent, enduring lineage within night, nuit, and nox; the persistent ghost of a single, ancient utterance echoing across centuries and continents—a reminder that our most personal thoughts are voiced in borrowed tongues.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin cognātus (“related by blood”), from co- + gnātus (“born”). Compare Portuguese cognato and Spanish cognado. Doublet of connate and cognatus.
adj
- Allied by blood; kindred by birth; specifically (law) related on the mother's side.
- Of the same or a similar nature; of the same family; proceeding from the same stock or root.“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”
- Descended from the same source lexemes (same etymons) of an ancestor language.
noun
- One of a number of things allied in origin or nature.
- One who is related to another on the female side.
- One who is related to another, both having descended from a common ancestor through legal marriages.
- A word either descended from the same base word of the same ancestor language as the given word, or judged to be a regular reflex of the same reconstructed root of proto-language as the given word.
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.