Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun linguistics The relationship between cognates; the condition of sharing a common ancestor term in another language.
  • noun linguistics The degree to which two languages share cognates, usually expressed as a percentage

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cognacy.

Examples

  • Peter T Daniels a Semiticiste and regular at sci.lang, he say: "Etymological dictionary for Arabic" doesn't make much sense, since the Arabic lexicon is so much vaster than that of any other Semitic language, since lexicography has been going on for over a thousand years, and etymological dictionaries of all the other Semitic languages mine the native Arab lexica for more or less plausible candidates for cognacy.

    languagehat.com: ARABIC ETYMOLOGY. 2004

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.