Cognado

Cognado, or cognate, refers to a word in two or more languages that descends from a common ancestor word in a proto-language. Cognates typically retain similarities in form and meaning, reflecting their shared origin. They are most common among languages that belong to the same family, such as English, German, Spanish, French, and other Indo-European languages, where many terms trace back to a single prehistoric word.

Overview and significance: The cognate relationship is historical rather than contemporary. Sound changes, semantic shifts, and borrowing can modify appearance and sense over time, but systematic correspondences often remain recognizable. Cognates are valuable for language learning because they provide clues about related vocabularies across languages and for linguists who reconstruct proto-languages and map language families.

Distinguishing true cognates from false friends: True cognates descend from a shared ancestor, even if their current meanings have drifted. False cognates (or false friends) look or sound alike but do not share a recent common origin or have diverged in meaning. Examples include English “night” and German “Nacht” (cognates with related meanings), and the classic false friend pair English “gift” and German “Gift” (present vs poison). Other well-known false friends arise from semantic drift or borrowing, such as English “library” and Spanish “librería.”

Examples of cognates: English “mother” and German “Mutter”; English “animal” and Spanish “animal”; English “information” and French “information.” Cognates aid etymology, language comparison, and vocabulary acquisition across related tongues.