recognize
verbEtymology From re- + cognize.
recognize
verb/ˈɹɛk.əɡ.naɪz/ · /ˈɹɛk.ɪɡ.naɪz/
Etymology Borrowed from Middle French reconoistre, from Old French reconoistre, from Latin recognoscere, first attested in the 16th century. Displaced native English acknow (“to recognize, perceive as”), compare German erkennen and Swedish erkänna. Latin had rare recognizare (“to try by jury”).
8 senses
- 1To match (something or someone which one currently…
- 2To acknowledge the existence or legality of; to treat as…
- 3To acknowledge or consider (as being a certain thing or…
- 4To realize or discover the nature of something…
- 5To show formal appreciation of, as with an award…
- 6To review; to examine again.
- 7To reconnoiter.
- 8To have the property to bind to specific antigens.
1
British, English, Oxford, US To match (something or someone which one currently perceives) to a memory of some previous encounter with the same person or thing.
- I recognized his face immediately, although his voice was different.
- He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days, and he felt a genuine thrill of pleasure when he recognized the red bandana turban of old Aunt Lyddy, the ancient negro woman who had sold him gingerbread and fried fish, and told him weird tales of witchcraft and conjuration, in the old days when, as an idle boy, he had loafed about the market-house.1900, Charles W[addell] Chesnutt, chapter I, in The House Behind the Cedars, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC:
1 more example
- Seeing comes before words. The child looks and recognizes before it can speak.1973, John Berger, chapter 1, in Ways of Seeing, Penguin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC:
2
British, English, Oxford, US To acknowledge the existence or legality of; to treat as valid or worthy of consideration.
- The US and a number of EU countries are expected to recognize Kosovo on Monday.
3
British, English, Oxford, US To acknowledge or consider (as being a certain thing or having a certain quality or property).
- Slavery is widely recognized as immoral.
- I recognize that my behaviour has been unacceptable.
1 more example
- “The United States government maintains relationships with unofficial partners around the world, and Taiwan is no exception. Our two democracies share common values of individual freedom, the rule of law, and a respect for human dignity. Today’s statement recognizes that the US-Taiwan relationship need not, and should not, be shackled by self-imposed restrictions of our permanent bureaucracy,” Pompeo wrote.2021 January 9, Kylie Atwood, quoting Mike Pompeo, “US lifts self-imposed restrictions with Taiwan”, in CNN, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2021:
- In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.2013 May-June, Katrina G. Claw, “Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
- His services were recognized in a testimonial.
- The soldier was recognized in dispatches.
- We do moste humbly submytte it [this treatise] to[…]your maiestie, to be recognised, ouersene, and corrected.1534, Thomas Cranmer, The Institution of a Christian Man:
- before the siege was layd to the Towne, of minde to recognize, he fell unawares amongst an Ambushcade1637, Robert Monro, Monro, His Expedition With the Worthy Scots Regiment Called Mac-Keys:
- Derived terms
- allorecognize, derecognize, immunorecognize, misrecognize, recognin, recognizability, recognizable, recognizably, recognizance, recognizant, recognization, recognizee, recognizer, recognizingly, recognizor, underrecognize, unrecognizable, unrecognize
- Related terms
- acknowledge, recognition, reconnaissance