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Origin and history of incognito

incognito(adj./adv.)

1640s as both adjective ("disguised under an assumed name and character") and adverb ("unknown, with concealed identity"), from Italian incognito "unknown," especially in connection with traveling, from Latin incognitus "unknown, not investigated," from in- "not, opposite of, without" (see in- (1)) + cognitus, past participle of cognoscere "to get to know" (see cognizance). Also as a noun, "an unknown man" (1630s). Feminine form incognita was maintained through 19c. by those scrupulous about Latin. Incog was a common 18c. colloquial abbreviation.

also from 1640s

Entries linking to incognito

cognizance(n.)

mid-14c., conisance, "device or mark by which something or someone is known," from Anglo-French conysance "recognition," later, "knowledge," from Old French conoissance "acquaintance, recognition; knowledge, wisdom" (Modern French connaissance), from past participle of conoistre "to know," from Latin cognoscere "to get to know, recognize," from assimilated form of com "together" (see co-) + gnoscere "to know" (from PIE root *gno- "to know").

Meaning "knowledge by observation or notice, understanding, information" is from c. 1400. In law, "the exercise of jurisdiction, the right to try a case" (mid-15c.). Meaning "acknowledgment, admission" is from 1560s. The -g- was restored in English spelling 15c. and has gradually affected the pronunciation, which was always "con-." The old pronunciation lingered longest in legal use.

terra incognita(n.)

"unknown or unexplored region," 1610s, Latin, literally "unknown land," from terra "earth" (see terra) + fem. of incognito "unknown" (see incognito). Plural is terrae incognitae. Terra cognita "familiar territory" is attested from 1962, often jocular.

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pyramid
1550s "massive monumental stone structure of polygonl plan, the sides of which slope in planes to a common apex," also a geometrical solid resembling this, (earlier in Latin form piramis, late 14c., or nativized in Middle English as piram), from French pyramide (Old French pirami
alone
"unaccompanied, solitary; without companions," c. 1300, a contraction of all ane, from Old English all ana "unaccompanied, all by oneself," literally "wholly oneself," from all "all, wholly" (see all) + an "one" (see one). It preserves the old pronunciation of one. Similar compou
catharsis
1770, "a bodily purging" (especially of the bowels), from Latinized form of Greek katharsis "purging, cleansing," from stem of kathairein "to purify, purge," from katharos "pure, clear of dirt, clean, spotless; open, free; clear of shame or guilt; purified" (with most of the exte
hamartia
"tragic flaw," Greek, literally "fault, failure, guilt, sin" from hamartanein "to fail of one's purpose; to err, sin," originally "to miss the mark," from PIE *hemert- "to miss, fail." "The aspiration must be analogical. The word has no known cognates, but the reconstructed root
precipitate
1520s, "to hurl or fling down" (from a precipice or height), a back formation from precipitation or else from Latin praecipitatus, past participle of praecipitare "to throw or dive headlong; be hasty," from praeceps (genitive praecipitis) "steep, headlong, headfirst," from prae "
agency
1650s, "active operation;" 1670s, "a mode of exerting power or producing effect," from Medieval Latin agentia, abstract noun from Latin agentem (nominative agens) "effective, powerful," present participle of agere "to set in motion, drive forward; to do, perform," figuratively "i
set
Middle English setten, from Old English settan (transitive) "cause to sit; make or cause to rest as on a seat; cause to be put, placed, or seated;" also "put in a definite place," also "arrange, fix adjust; fix or appoint (a time) for some affair or transaction," and "cause (thou
utopia
1551, from Modern Latin Utopia, literally "nowhere," coined by Thomas More (and used as title of his book, 1516, about an imaginary island enjoying the utmost perfection in legal, social, and political systems), from Greek ou "not" + topos "place" (see topos). The current (since
brood
Old English brod "offspring of egg-laying animals, hatchlings, young birds hatched in one nest," from Proto-Germanic *brod (source also of Middle Dutch broet, Old High German bruot, German Brut "brood"), etymologically "that which is hatched by heat," from *bro- "to warm, heat,"
private
late 14c., "pertaining or belonging to oneself, not shared, peculiar to an individual only;" of a thing, "not open to the public, for the use of privileged persons;" of a religious rule, "not shared by Christians generally, distinctive;" from Latin privatus "set apart (from what

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