English
cogent
Cogent comes from Latin cōgēns ‘collecting or assembling together’, from agō ‘lead, drive, impel, push’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘lead, drive, impel, push’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōgō‘drive together, compel’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōgēns‘collecting or assembling together’present active participle of cōgō
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcogent
- Englishearliest quotation 1944cogent
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂eǵ-reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂éǵeti‘to be driving’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*agō‘to drive’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEagō‘lead, drive, impel, push’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōgō‘drive together, compel’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEcōgēns‘collecting or assembling together’present active participle of cōgō
- Frenchc. 1600–presentcogent
- Englishearliest quotation 1944cogent
Earliest quotation: 1944, and June, In the Critics' Den: “We congratulate our correspondents on some very cogent reasoning,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-
register, suggest, essay, acre, gesture, digest, congestion, agrarian, gestation, ingestion, progesterone, agitate, ingest, belligerent, axiomatic, samaj, agger, gestion, gerund, 128 more
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂éǵeti ‘to be driving’
strategy, agony, reactionary, antagonist, axiom, agonist, antagonism, antagonize, glucagon, stratagem, agonize, 102 more
through Proto-Italic *agō ‘to drive’
reaction, actively, transaction, radioactive, inactive, retroactive, unambiguous, hyperactivity, ambiguously, reagent, 80 more
through Latin agō ‘lead, drive, impel, push’
act, action, active, activity, actual, actor, agency, examination, examine, agent, agenda, activate, ambiguous, agile, ambiguity, agility, assay, agitation, enact, radium, actuator, actuation, inexact, actuate, redact, exigent, 97 more
through Latin cōgō ‘drive together, compel’
Today it means
adj Reasonable and convincing; based on evidence.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ- / cogent