Word.ws English Dictionary

cognisance

cognisance is the alternative spelling of cognizance.

Meaning of cognizance

Noun

cognizance (countable and uncountable, plural cognizances)

  1. An emblem, badge or device, used as a distinguishing mark by the body of retainers of a royal or noble house.
  2. Notice or awareness.
    • Poor Lady Rotheles was really so imprudent on the late occasion of her niece's elopement as to go into a passion, and to utter such a tirade against her, her lord was roused from his habitual, but not natural listlessness, and became, in consequence, master of sentiments and secrets hitherto most...1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLIII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 244
  3. Jurisdiction.

Forms of cognisance

pluralcognisances

Questions about cognisance

What is cognisance the alternative spelling of?
Cognisance is the alternative spelling of cognizance.

Words near cognisance in the dictionary

  1. cognification
  2. cognisable
  3. cognisable offence
  4. cognisable offences
  5. cognisably
  6. cognisance
  7. cognisances
  8. cognisant
  9. cognisantly
  10. cogniscient
  11. cognise

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cognisance (page history and authors); cognizance (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “cognisance.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cognisance. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.