Recognoscere

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To carefully examine or inspect something in order to recognize or verify its nature ; to acknowledge or identify by close observation ; to review or reconnoiter, especially in a formal or official way
2. Engaging in the act of closely reviewing, usually for identification or verification purposes ; making a formal recognition through careful study ; performing a reconnaissance or detailed inspection
3. Undertaking a thorough scrutiny to confirm identity or characteristics ; confirming or recognizing something through meticulous examination ; carrying out an official or systematic investigation

Etymology: Latin "recognoscere" is built from "re-", meaning "again", and "cognoscere", meaning "to get to know". Its literal sense was therefore "to get to know again", and Roman writers used it for going back over something to look at it closely: reviewing documents, checking accounts, or examining a piece of ground or a body of troops. The "again" in the prefix explains the sense of re-examination. The word had an active, practical flavour, which is why it was used for the kind of scrutiny that involves walking the ground or reading the paperwork a second time. Its French descendant, "reconnaissance", kept that military meaning of surveying terrain before an advance. English "recognize" comes through Old French "reconoistre", which carried the same root. The sense of identifying a familiar person or thing developed from the idea of knowing something again, and the older meaning of careful inspection faded from everyday use.

Synonyms: recognize, acknowledge, identify, discern, perceive

Antonyms: ignore, overlook, disregard, neglect, miss