cogency 
force ; credibility : as, the cogency of an alleged 
motive, or of evidence ; the cogency of one's ar- 
guments or reasoning. 
Maxims and axioms, principles of science, because they 
are self-evident, have been supposed innate ; although no- 
body ever shewed the foundation of their clearness and co- 
gency. Locke. 
Negative evidence ... of the same kind and of the 
same cogency as that which forbids us to assume the exis- 
tence between the Earth and Venus of a planet as large as 
either of them. W. K. CK/ord, Lectures, II. 68. 
COgenialt (ko-je'nial), a. [< co- 1 + genial; var. 
of congenial.] Congenial. 
A writer of a cogenial cast. 
T. Warton, Hist. Eng. Poetry, II. 867. 
cogent (ko'jent), a. [= F. cogent, < L. eogen(t-)s, 
ppr. of cogerc, collect, compress, compel, contr. 
of "co-igere, for "co-agere, < co-, together, + age- 
re, drive: see co- 1 and act, n.] 1. Compelling 
by physical force ; potent; irresistible by physi- 
cal means. [Rare.] 
The cogent force of nature. Prior. 
2. Compelling assent or conviction ; appealing 
powerfully to the intellect or moral sense ; not 
easily denied or refuted: as, a cogent reason or 
argument. 
This most cogent proof of a Deity. Bentley. 
This way of reasoning was so obvious and cogent that 
many, even among the Jews themselves, acknowledged the 
force of it. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, II. v. 
cogently (ko' jent-li), adv. In a cogent manner. 
coggeH, cogge 2 t. A Middle English spelling of 
cog 1 , cog 2 . 
cogger 1 (kog'er), n. [< cog", n., 3, + -er 1 .] In 
mining, one who builds up the roof-supports or 
cogs. 
cogger 2 (kog'6r), . [< cog* + -er 1 .] A flat- 
terer ; a deceiver; a cheat. 
coggeryt (kog'er-i), . [< cog* + -cry.] The 
practice of cogging or cheating, especially at 
dice; trickery; falsehood; knavery. 
This Is a second false surmise or coggerie of the Jesuits 
to keep the ignorant in error. 
Watson, Quodlibets of Religion (ed. 1602), p. 195. 
A 
a 
coggie, as porridge, brose, liquor, etc. 
cogging 1 (kog'ing), n. [Verbal n. of cog*, v.] 
The practice of cheating by loaded dice. 
As to diceing, I think it becommeth best deboshed soul- 
diers to play at on the heads of their drums, being only 
ruled by hazard, and subject to knavish cogging. 
Quoted in Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 17. 
Same as calking^. 
im. of cop 1 .] A small 
coggie (kog'i), n. [So., dim. of eogrS.] 1. . 
small wooden bowl. 2. The contents of 
cogging 2 (kog'ing), n. ! 
coggie 1 (kog'l), n. [Di 
boat. 
coggie 2 (kog'l), v. i. ; pret. and pp. coggled, ppr. 
coggling. [E. dial., appar. < cogglf 1 , n., a small 
boat, or else var. of cocfcZe 2 , move up and 
down, as waves: see coggie 1 and cocfcfe 2 .] To 
move from side to side ; be shaky. [Prov. Eng. 
and Scotch.] 
COggle 3 (kog'l), n. [E. dial., appar. dim. of eocfc 3 , 
a roundish heap, etc. (of. Sw. dial, kokkel, a 
lump of earth), or var. of equiv. cobble 1 , q. v. ; 
but cf. D. kogel = MHG. kugele, kugel, G. kugel, 
a ball, bowl, globe.] A small round stone; 
a cobble. [Prov. Eng.] 
COggledy (kog'l-di), a. [Extension of coggly, 
or var. of cocklety.] Shaky ; unstable. [Prov. 
Eng.] 
Take care of that step-ladder though ; it is coggledy, as 
I observed when you came down. 
Miss Edgeworth, Helen, ixv. 
COgglestone (kog'1-ston), . [< coggie* + stone. 
Cf. cobblestone.] A cobblestone. 
coggly (kog'li), o. [So., also spelled cogglie; 
< coggie^ + -y 1 .] Unsteady; unstable. 
COgitability (koj'i-ta-bil'i-ti), n. [= F. cogita- 
Itilite; < cogitable: see -bility.] The state or 
quality of being cogitable or thinkable ; possi- 
bility of being thought. 
Conceptions 
lability. 
of whatsoever hath any entity or cogi- 
Cudworth, Morality, iv. 1. 
cogitable (koj'i-ta-bl), a. and n. [= F. 8p. cogi- 
table, < L. cogitabilis, < cogitare, think : see cogi- 
tate.) I. a. Capable of being thought; that may 
be apprehended by thinking; thinkable; not 
logically absurd. 
Creation is cogitable^ by us only as a putting forth of di- 
vine power. Sir W. Hamilton, Discussions, p. 693. 
II. n. Anything capable of being the subject 
of thought. Sir W. Hamilton. 
cogitabund (koj'i-ta-bund), a. [= Sp. Pg. cogi- 
tabundo = It. eogitabondo, < LL. cogitabundus, 
thoughtful, < L. cogitare, think: see cogitate.] 
Full of thought; deeply thoughtful. [Rare.] 
1090 
Bosch, in a clerical dress, is seated in an easy-chair, cogi- 
tabund, with a manuscript open before him. 
Southey, The Doctor, cxii. 
cogitabundity (koj"i-ta-bun'di-ti), . [< cogi- 
tabund + -ity.] Deep tHoughtfulness. [Humor- 
ous.] 
cogitate (koj'i-tat), v. ; pret. and pp. cogitated, 
ppr. cogitating. [< L. cogitatus, pp. of cogitare 
(> It. cogitare = Sp. Pg. cogitar = OF. cogiter), 
consider, ponder, weigh, think upon, prob. a 
contr. (as cogere for "coigere, "coagere) for *co- 
igitare, for co-agitare (which occurs later as a 
new formation in lit. sense ' shake together'), < 
co-, together, + agitare, shake : see co- 1 and 
agitate.] I. intrans. To think earnestly or 
studiously; reflect; ponder; meditate: as, to 
cogitate upon means of escape. 
He that calleth a thing into his mind . . . cogitateth and 
considereth. Bacon, Learning. 
II. trans. To revolve in the mind; think about 
attentively; meditateon; hence, devise or plan: 
as, he is cogitating mischief. 
We . . . did cogitate nothing more than how to satisfy 
the parts of a good pastor. Foxe, Martyrs, p. 780. 
cogitation (koi-i-ta'shon), n. [In early ME. 
cogitaciun, < OF. cogitd'ciun, cogitacion, F. cogi- 
tation = Pr. cogitatio = Pg. cogitaqao = It. cogi- 
tazione, < L. cogitatio(n-), < cogitare, think: see 
cogitate.] 1. The act of cogitating or thinking; 
earnest reflection ; meditation; contemplation. 
On some great charge employ'd 
He seem'd, or flx'd in cogitation deep. 
Milton, P. L., 111. 629. 
Round the decaying trunk of human pride. 
At morn, and eve, and midnight's solemn hour, 
Do penitential cogitations cling. 
Wordsworth, Eccles. Sonnets, i. 21. 
Hence 2. That which is thought out; apian; 
a scheme. [Rare.] 
The king, perceiving that his desires were intemperate, 
and his cogitations vast and irregular, began not to brook 
him well. Bacon, Henry VII. 
cogitative (koj'i-ta-tiv). a. [= F. cogitatif = 
Sp. Pg. It. cogitatiyo, < ML. cogitativus, < L. co- 
gitatus, pp. of cogitare, think: see cogitate and 
-ive.] 1. Having the power of cogitating or 
meditating; thinking; reflective: as, cogitative 
faculties. 2. Given to thought or contempla- 
tion; thoughtful. 
The earl . . . being by nature somewhat more cogitative. 
Sir H. Wotton, Parallel between Essex and Buckingham. 
COgitatively (koj'i-ta-tiv-li), adv. In a cogita- 
tive or thinking manner. 
COgitativity (koj"i-ta-tiv'i-ti), n. [< cogitative 
+ -ity.] Power of cogitation. [Rare.] 
To change death into life, incapacity of thinking into 
cogitatimty. W. Wollaston. 
COgito ergo sum (koj'i-to er'go sum). [L.: co- 
gtto, 1st pers. sing. pres. ind. act. of cogitare, 
think ; ergo, therefore ; sum, 1st pers. sing. pres. 
ind. of esse, be: see cogitate, ergo, and be 1 .] Lit- 
erally, I think, therefore I am: the starting- 
point of the Cartesian system of philosophy. 
See Cartesian. 
cogmant (kog'man), n.; pi. cogmen (-men). [< 
cog(ware) + man.] A dealer in or a maker of 
cogware. 
cognac (ko'nyak), n. [Formerly also cogniac; < 
F. cognac: so called from Cognac in France.] 1. 
Properly, a French brandy of superior quality 
distilled from wines produced in the neighbor- 
hood of Cognac in the department of Charente, 
France ; more loosely, any of the brandies of 
that department. Hence 2. In Europe, any 
brandy of good quality (this name having su- 
perseded the original terms eau-de-vie, brannt- 
wein, etc.) ; in the United States, French brandy 
in general. See champagne. 
Cognac pottery. See pottery. 
cognate (kog'nat), a. and n. [= Sp. Pg. co- 
gnado = It. cognato, < L. cognatus, (. co-, toge- 
ther, + "gnatus, old form of natus, born, pp. of 
"gnasci, nasci, be born: see natal, native. Cf. 
agnate,adnate.] I. a. 1. Allied by blood ; con- 
nected or related by birth ; specifically, of the 
same parentage, near or remote, as another. 
See cognation, 1. 2. Related in origin; trace- 
able to the same source ; proceeding from the 
same stock or root; of the same family, in a 
general sense: as, cognate languages or dia- 
lects; words cognate in origin. 3. Allied in 
nature, quality, or form; having affinity of any 
kind: as, connate sounds. 
There is a difference between poetry and the cognate 
arts of expression, since the former has somewhat less to 
do with material processes and effects. 
Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 3. 
In ancient Hellas there were four classes of religious ob- 
servance more or less cognate with pilgrimage, though not 
in any case identical therewith. Encyc. Brit., XIX. 91. 
cognition 
Cognate accusative or objective. See objective. Cog- 
nate notions, in logic : (a) Notions essentially identical, 
and differing only in being conceived by different minds 
or by the same mind at different times, (0) Any similar 
notions. Cognate propositions, in logic, propositions 
having the same subject or the same predicate. 
II. n. [= F. cognat, etc., < L. cognatvs, fern. 
cognata, n. : see above.] 1. One connected 
with another by ties of kindred; specifically, 
in the plural, all those whose descent can be 
traced from one pair. In its technical use in 
Roman law it implied a lawful marriage as the 
source. See agnate &nd cognation, 1. 2. Any- 
thing related to another by origin or derivation, 
as a language or a word: as, the Latin and 
Greek languages are cognates. 
COgnateness (kg'nat-nes), . The state or 
relation of being cognate. Coleridge. 
COgnati (kog-na'tl), n. pi. [L., pi. of cognatus, 
n. : see cognate, a. and n.] Persons related by 
birth ; specifically, the descendants of the same 
pair. See cognation, 1. 
COgnatic (kog-nat'ik), a. [< cognate + -4c; = 
F. cognatique = Sp. cogn4tico = Pg. cognatico.] 
Cognate ; pertaining to relationship by descent 
from one pair. See cognation, 1. 
The old Roman law established, for example, a funda- 
mental difference between Agnatic and Cognatic relation- 
ship, that is, between the Family considered as based upon 
common subjection to patriarchal authority and the Fam- 
ily considered (in conformity with modern ideas) as united 
through the mere fact of a common descent. This dis- 
tinction disappears in the "law common to all nations." 
Maine, Ancient Law (3d Am. ed.), p. 66. 
cognation (kog-na'shon), n. [< ME. cognacioun, 
< OF. cognacion, F. cognation = Pr. cognation 
= Sp. cognacion = Pg. cognaq&o = It. cogna- 
zione, < L. cognatio(n-), < cognatus, kindred: 
see cognate.] 1. Relationship by descent from 
the same pair, including both the male and the 
female lines. See agnation. 
He that honours his parents . . . will dearly account of 
all his relatives and persons of the same cognation. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 210. 
Cognation is ... a relative term, and the degree of 
connexion in blood which it indicates depends on the par- 
ticular marriage which is selected as the commencement 
of the calculation. If we begin with the marriage of fa- 
ther and mother, Cognation will only express the relation- 
ship of brothers and sisters ; if we take that of the grand- 
father and grandmother, then uncles, aunts, and their de- 
scendants will also be included in the notion of Cognation ; 
and following the same process a larger number of Cog- 
nates may be continually obtained by choosing the start- 
ing point higher and higher up in the line of ascent. 
Maine, Ancient Law (3d Am. ed.), p. 142. 
2. Affinity by kindred origin. 
His cognation with the ^?acides and kings of Molossus. 
Sir T. Browne, Misc. Tracts, p. 159. 
His [the Lord's) baptism did signify, by a cognation to 
their usual rites and ceremonies of ablution, and washing 
gentile proselytes, that the Jews had so far receded from 
then- duty . . . that they were in the state of strangers. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 86. 
3. Affinity of any kind ; resemblance in nature 
or character. 
He induceth us to ascribe effects unto causes of no cog- 
nation. Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err. 
cognisability, cognisable, etc. See cogniza- 
bility, etc. 
cognita, n. Plural of cognitum. 
cognition (kog-nish'on), n. [< ME. cognicion 
= F. cognition = Pr. cognicio = Sp. cognicion 
(obs.) = It. cognizione, ( L. cognitio(n-), know- 
ledge, perception, a judicial examination, trial, 
< cognitus, pp. of cognoscere, know, < co-, to- 
gether, + "gnoscere, older form of noscere, = 
Gr. yi-yv&OKetv, yvovai = E. know : see know^, 
and cf. cognize, cognizance, cognieor, cognosce, 
connoisseur.] 1. Knowledge, or certain know- 
ledge, as from personal view or experience ; 
perception; cognizance. 
This deuyn [divine] was of good cognicion, 
And a scoler was of Tholouse certain, 
As wituesseith litterall scripture plain. 
.Rom. ofPartenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 5981. 
Sometime he [Constantine] took, as St. Augustine wit- 
nesseth, even personal cognition of them. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, viii. 8. 
I will not be myself, nor have cognition 
Of what I feel ; I am all patience. 
Shak., T. and C., v. 2. 
2. A mental act or process, or the product of 
an act, of the general nature of knowing or 
learning, (o) The act of acquiring any sort of idea; 
consciousness referring to an object as affecting the sub- 
ject ; the objectiflcation of feeling ; an act of knowing 
in the widest sense, including sensation, imagination, in- 
stinct, etc. : in this sense, discriminated as a function of 
the mind from feeling and volition. 
I frequently employ cognition as a synonym of know- 
ledge. Sir W. Hamilton, Metaph., xxi. 
The very facts which lead us to distinguish feeling from 
cognition and conation make against the hypothesis that 
consciousness can ever be all feeling. 
James Ward, Encyc. Brit., XX. 40. 
