Definition:
Cognates are words in different languages that have a common etymological origin. They often have similar meanings and phonetic resemblances due to their shared linguistic ancestry.
Etymology:
The term “cognate” comes from the Latin word “cognatus,” which means “related by blood,” or “related by birth.” This is derived from “co-” meaning “together” and “gnatus” meaning “born.” The concept has been used in linguistic studies to trace the historical relationships between languages.
The word “cognate” itself is a cognate in its etymology. The word “cognate” comes from the Latin word cognatus, which means “related by blood.” This is composed of two parts: “co-“: a prefix meaning “together” or “with,” and “gnatus”: derived from natus, the past participle of nasci, meaning “to be born.” From the Latin gnatus or natus, we get English words like “nation” and “native.” The root nasci also gives us words like “nascent” (coming into existence) and “natal” (relating to birth).
Description:
For example, the English word “mother” and the German word “Mutter” are cognates.
Cognates arise from a shared parent language, and they can be found in both related and unrelated languages due to historical contact and borrowing.
Types of Cognates:
- True Cognates: Words that have the same origin and similar meanings across languages (e.g., “night” in English, “nuit” in French and “natt” in Norwegian).
- False Cognates: Words that look similar and may have a common origin but have different meanings in different languages (e.g., “actual” in English and “actual” in Spanish, where it means “current”).
- Loanwords: Words adopted from one language into another that maintain a similar form (e.g., “ballet” from French to English).
Examples of Cognates:
- English and German: “Brother” and “Bruder”
- English and Spanish: “Information” and “información”
- English and Russian: “Star” and “звезда” (zvezda)
- English and French: “Name” and “nom”
- Latin and English: “Pater” (Latin) and “father”.
Religion:
Cognates are not typically a focus of religious texts themselves but are important in the translation and interpretation of these texts. Understanding cognates can help scholars and translators maintain the accuracy and nuance of sacred writings across different languages. Religious language is filled with cognates. For example: the word “baptize” in English and the Greek word “βαπτίζω” (baptizō) are cognates, showing the direct borrowing and adaptation of religious terminology from Greek into English.