noun
or cog·ni·sance ˈkägnəzən(t)s sometimes ˈkänə- esp in sense 3
( -s )
Etymology: alteration (influenced by cognition ) of Middle English conisaunce, from Old French conoissance, from conoistre to know, from Latin cognoscere — more at cognition
1. : a distinguishing mark or emblem (as a heraldic bearing, crest, or cockade) ; specifically : the badge worn by an armed knight and his followers
2.
a. obsolete : knowledge or understanding in general
b. : surveillance , control
the engineering department also has cognizance over all engineering compartments — A.A.Ageton
reserves them to his own jurisdiction unless he chooses to give cognizance of them to anyone as a mark of unusual honor — F.W.Stenton
c. : particular knowledge : conscious recognition : apprehension , perception
the officer's power to arrest without a warrant depends upon his own sensory cognizance that a crime has been committed — Paul Wilson
seemed to have no cognizance of the crime
d. : range of apprehension or perception
beyond the children's cognizance
e. : notice , observance
nothing could happen, among a certain class of society, without the cognizance of some philanthropic agency — Arnold Bennett
to take cognizance of a fault
3.
a. : the right and power to hear and decide controversies : jurisdiction
b. : the judicial hearing of a matter
4.
a. : an admission made by one levying a fine that the lands in question belong to the plaintiff : a plea admitting the facts alleged
b. : a justification by the defendant in replevin that the goods were taken by him by command of another lawfully entitled to their possession