COGNIZANCE


Meaning of COGNIZANCE in English

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

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.