recognise

Recognise is a verb meaning to identify someone or something from previous experience or knowledge, to acknowledge the existence or validity of something, or to recall from memory. It is commonly used with a direct object, as in recognizing a person by sight or voice, recognizing handwriting, or recognizing a familiar sound, as well as with abstract nouns such as a right, a claim, or an authority.

Etymology and spelling: Recognise comes from Old French recogniss-, from recognoscere Latin. The modern form with -ise is typical of British English. In American English the spelling is recognize, with -ize. The pronunciation is generally /ˈrɛkəɡnaɪz/ in many dialects, with minor regional variations.

Usage: Recognise is primarily a transitive verb (to recognise something), but it can appear intransitively in certain constructions (for example, “She recognised at once”). In legal or governmental contexts it can mean to acknowledge the validity of a government, a treaty, or a state. In technology and psychology, it appears in terms such as pattern recognition, facial recognition, and voice recognition.

Forms and related terms: Present participle recognising (UK) or recognizing (US); past tense recognised or recognized; noun recognition denotes the act or process of recognizing. Related concepts include identify, acknowledge, discern, and remember; antonyms include misidentify, overlook, or ignore.

See also: recognition, identification, acknowledgment.