cognominal

/kɒɡˈnɒmɪnəl/

cognominal adjective: of or relating to a cognomen.

Adjective (1)

cognominal (not comparable)

Of or relating to a cognomen.
- [T]he cognomen, indicator par excellence of the stable, geographically localized, diachronically perpetuated lineage, is an emblem of patrilineal prestige. The poem's invidious perception of the cognomen is reflected in the frequent repetition of the toponym associated with the Cid's foes...1993, Michael Harney, Kinship and Polity in the Poema de Mío Cid, Purdue University Press, →ISBN, page 50

cognominal (plural cognominals)

A name (sometimes especially one's cognomen or family name).
- […] Mr. Diedrich Knickerbocker, a name not yet ranked with Hume, and Gibbon, and Robertson, very fortunately for those who have an antipathy to Dutch cognominals, but which, we venture to foretel, will be held in esteem,1821, The Edinburgh Monthly Review, page 232
- On reference to Clarkson's History of Richmond, compiled chiefly from Gale's Register Honorum Richmondæ, it appears that a charter of Alan, fourth Earl of Richmond, is witnessed in 1145, among others, by THEOBALD and by BALDWIN, and another similar charter in the subsequent year by Baldwin de...1836, John Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland, Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours

cognominal (not comparable)

Bearing the same name.
- ... is the pole cognominal with the pole of the magnet; and inasmuch as the cognominal poles of magnets repel each other, so are we to conceive this one also as repelled by the pole of the magnet.1846, Emanuel Swedenborg, The Principia: Or, The First Principles of Natural Things, Being New Attempts Toward a Philosophical Explanation of the Elementary World, page 15
- Divide any arc of revolution into 90 equal parts from the terminus of the arcs of revolution to the pole; for whatever the degree of latitude of the place, that part of the arc of revolution is to be reckoned as cognominal to it which the magnetic pole in rotating upon or around terrella or earth...1892, William Gilbert, On the Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies: And on the Great Magnet the Earth, page 296

cognominal (plural cognominals)

(obsolete) One bearing the same name.
- And therefore although it be not denied that ſome in the water doe carry a juſtifiable reſemblance to ſome at the Land, yet are the major part which beare their names unlike; nor doe they otherwiſe reſemble the creatures on earth, then they on earth the conſtellations which paſſe under animall...1646, Thomas Browne, “That All Animals of the Land, Are in Their Kinde in the Sea”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, page 170
- Different-named Fractions, reduced to cognominals, or Same-named [Fractions], and withall added and Subducted.1649, R. B. (Mr. of Arts.), Arithmetick Symbolical in one Book. By R. B. Mr. of Arts. In which the mystery of numeration by symbols is revealed, page 17

the fact that the two men are cognominal is a mere coincidence.1992, Marvin J. Heller, Printing the Talmud: A History of the Earliest Printed Editions of the Talmud, Brooklyn, N.Y. : Im Hasefer:
My cognomen is Whitehouse, or wise guy, and I am formally cognominal with the residence of some who is not so wise.2006, Chris G. Kruse, Thinking about Cognition: Concepts, Targets and Therapeutics, IOS Press, →ISBN, page 5:

plural	cognominals

From the stem of Latin cognōmen (“cognomen: additional name or nickname; (any) name”) + -al.

From Latin cognōminis (“bearing the same name”) + -al.

What does cognominal mean?: Cognominal means of or relating to a cognomen.
How do you use cognominal in a sentence?: the fact that the two men are cognominal is a mere coincidence.
What part of speech is cognominal?: Cognominal can be an adjective or a noun.
How do you pronounce cognominal?: Cognominal is pronounced /kɒɡˈnɒmɪnəl/.

Adapted from Wiktionary: cognominal (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.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

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