reconnoitre means an act or instance of reconnoitring. It carries an Arena rating of 1692, earned across 17 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, reconnoitre ranks #1,244 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,700 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,921 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #3,545 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
reconnoitre is pronounced /ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtə/.
Why “reconnoitre” is a great word
To make a preliminary, strategic survey of an area, especially for military purposes, to gain information. From obsolete French *reconnoître* (modern *reconnaître*), from Latin *recognoscere* ("to recognize, examine"), from *re-* ("again") and *cognoscere* ("to know"), first attested in English in the early 18th century. Unlike "scout," which implies a swift, stealthy foray, or "survey," which denotes a detailed, measured examination for civilian ends, to reconnoitre is a deliberate, tactical act of appraisal from a position of latent threat. It is the cold focus of field glasses scanning a distant ridgeline, the patient tracing of a perimeter from a concealed vantage point, and the methodical noting of every rut in a road that may later bear the weight of artillery—a formal, premeditated act of curiosity that forever alters a blank space into a field of potential decisions.
Etymology
From French reconnoître (obsolete spelling of reconnaître), from Latin recognoscere (“to recognise”). There is also an obsolete 19th-century British English spelling reconnaitre, influenced by the modern French form.
noun
- An act or instance of reconnoitring.e.g.“The pilot reported the findings of his reconnoitre.”
verb
- To perform a reconnaissance (of an area; an enemy position); to scout with the aim of gaining information.e.g.“Our scout will reconnoitre the path ahead of our troops.”
- To recognise.e.g.“As to my person, it will not be so easy to reconnoitre it, for I question whether any of it will remain” — 1765, Horace Walpole, The Correspondence of Horace Walpole, with George Montagu, Esq:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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