08 January 2007

Word Of The Day

cognoscible \kog-NAH-suh-bul\ adjective : cognizable, knowable

Example sentence: "Discourse must be in words, and it is possible to give a name to that which is not understood nor cognoscible by human reason." (Flann O'Brien, _The Dalkey Archive_)

Did you know? The exact synonym of "cognoscible" is the far better-known "cognizable." Both words mean "capable of being judicially heard and determined" (as "a cognoscible claim") and "capable of being known" (as "cognoscible circumstances"). Both terms are from Latin "cognoscere," meaning "to know." And both appeared in the 17th century, less than two decades apart -- first, "cognoscible," direct from the Late Latin adjective "cognoscibilis"; then, "cognizable," from the English noun "cognizance" ("knowledge").

2 comments:

Michelle said...

Well, bugger me! I have never heard of that word before. "Cog"...hmmm as in cognative = aware = to know, so it must be the cog bit LOL if you get what i'm trying to say!

Morgan said...

I understand you Mate.