Cognise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To become aware of something through the senses or the mind
2. To perceive or notice something mentally or sensorially
3. To recognize or identify by observation or understanding

Etymology: "Cognise" is the British spelling of "cognize," and both come from Latin "cognoscere," meaning "to get to know" or "to learn," built from "com-" (together, thoroughly) and "gnoscere," "to know." That root is the same one behind "know" itself, which descends from the Germanic branch of the same Indo-European family, making "cognise" and "know" distant cousins. The English verb entered use in the early 1600s, and it arrived with a sense closer to "to be acquainted with" or "to recognize" than to the modern idea of perceiving through the senses. Its meaning sits between knowing and perceiving, which is why dictionaries sometimes present it as a more formal way of saying "to be aware of." The spelling difference is a matter of convention rather than etymology. British publishing traditionally favoured the "-ise" ending, while American usage settled on "-ize," so the same Latin-derived verb appears in both forms depending on where it is written.

Synonyms: recognize, perceive, discern, realize, understand

Antonyms: ignore, overlook, miss, dismiss, neglect