Reconoisser

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To explore or inspect a place, especially one held by an enemy, in order to gather information before taking action
2. To scout out an area or position ahead of time so as to learn what lies there
3. To make a preliminary survey of terrain or enemy forces in order to collect useful intelligence

Etymology: Old French speakers used "reconoisser" not only to identify something already known but also to admit or acknowledge something, such as a debt or a fault. That second sense is the more surprising one, since English "recognize" has mostly lost it, surviving mainly in phrases like recognizing someone's authority. The verb descends from Latin "recognoscere", built from "re-", meaning "again", and "cognoscere", meaning "to know". Its original sense was to examine something again or review it, and the idea of recognizing a face or object grew out of that habit of re-examining. English "recognize" came in as a learned borrowing from the French form. A related English word, "recognizance", a formal legal acknowledgment of a debt or obligation, keeps the older sense of binding acknowledgment alive.