cogitation

English

Etymology

Latinism, likely a learned borrowing from Medieval Latin cogitatio, cogitationis, possibly influenced by or displacing an earlier doublet of cogitacion inherited from Middle English cogitacioun, from an Old French cogitaciun, from Vulgar Latin cōgitātiō, cōgitātiōnem; compare Middle French cogitatiun, French cogitation. All ultimately from verbal construction cōgitātus +‎ -iō, from the perfect passive participle of Latin cōgitō (“to turn over in the mind; think, consider, ponder, meditate”), frequentative verb from con- (“together, with”) +‎ agitō (“to put in constant motion, drive at something; devise, plot, contrive”), root from Proto-Italic *agō (“to drive, impel”) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Pronunciation

• enPR: kŏj'ĭ-tāʹshən, kä'jə-tāʹshən, kōj'ĭ-tāʹshən
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌkɒd͡ʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ˌkɒː.d͡ʒəˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ˌkəʊd͡ʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌkɑd͡ʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ˌkɑː.d͡ʒəˈteɪ.ʃən/, /ˌkoʊd͡ʒ.ɪˈteɪ.ʃən/

Noun

cogitation (countable and uncountable, plural cogitations)

1. (uncountable) The process of cogitating; contemplation, deliberation, reflection, meditation.
2. (countable) A carefully considered thought, idea, notion.

Quotations

• 1582 – 1610, Douay Rheims Bible, Book of Ecclesiasticus (Wisdom of Sirach) XL.1–11:

  Great trauail is created to al men, and an heauie yoke vpon the children of Adam, from the day of their comming forth of their mothers wombe, vntil the day of their burying, into the mother of al. Their cogitations, and feares of the hart, imagination of things to come, and the day of their ending: from him that ſitteth vpon the glorious ſeate, vnto him that is humbled in earth & aſhes. From him that weareth hyacinth, and beareth the crowne, euen to him that is couered with rude linen: furie, enuie, tumult, wauering, and the feare of death, anger perſeuering, and contention, and in time of repoſe in bed, the ſleepe of night changeth his knowledge. A litle is as nothing in reſt, and afterward in ſleepe, as in the day of watch. He is troubled in the viſion of his hart, as he that hath eſcaped in the day of battel. In the time of his ſafetie he roſe vp, and merueleth at no feare: with al fleſh, from man euen to beaſt, and vpon ſinners ſeuenfold. Beſides theſe things, death, bloud, contention, and ſword, oppreſſions, famine, and contrition, and ſcourges: for the wicked al theſe were created, and for them the floud was made. Al things that are of the earth, ſhal turne into the earth, and al waters ſhal returne into the ſea.

• 1582 – 1610, Douay Rheims Bible, Gospel of Saint Luke IX.37–50:

  And it came to paſſe the day folovving, vvhen they came dovvne from the mountaine, there mette him a great multitude. And behold a man of the multitude cried out, ſaying, Maiſter, I beſeeche thee, looke vpõ my ſonne, becauſe he is mine only one. And loe, the ſpirit taketh him, and he ſodenly crieth, and he daſheth him, and teareth him that he fometh, and vvith much a doe departeth renting him. And I deſired thy diſciples to caſt him out, and they could not. And IESVS anſvvering ſaid, O faithles and peruerſe generation, hovv long ſhal I be vvith you and ſuffer you? Bring hither thy ſonne. And vvhen he came to him, the deuil daſhed, and tore him. And IESVS rebuked the vncleane ſpirit, and healed the lad: and rendred him to his father. And al vvere aſtonied at the might of God: and al merueiling at al things that he did, he said to his diſciples, Lay you in your hartes theſe vvordes, for it ſhal come to paſſe that the Sonne of man ſhal be deliuered into the hands of men. But they did not knovv this vvord, and it vvas couered before them, that they perceiued it not. And they vvere afraid to aſke him of this vvord. And there entred a cogitation into them, vvhich of them ſhould be greater. But IESVS ſeeing the cogitations of their hart, tooke a childe and ſet him by him, and ſaid to them, Whoſoeuer receiueth this childe in my name, receiueth me: and vvhoſoeuer receiueth me, receiueth him that ſent me. For he that is the leſſer among you al, he is the greater. And Iohn, anſvvering ſaid, Maiſter, vve ſavv a certaine man caſting out deuils in thy name, and vve prohibited him, becauſe he folovveth not vvith vs. And IESVS ſaid to him, Prohibit not, for he that is not againſt you, is for you.

• 1848, Basil Montagu, The Works of Francis Bacon, Lord Chancellor of England: With a Life of the Author, page 212:

  Aristotle saith well, “Words are the images of cogitations, and letters are the images of words”

Synonyms

• Synonyms: see Thesaurus:consideration

Related terms

• cogitable
• cogitate
• cogitative

Translations

process of cogitating

• Bulgarian: размишление (bg) (razmišlenie)
• Catalan: cogitació f
• French: cogitation (fr) f
• Italian: cogitazione (it) f
• Latin: cogitatio f
• Portuguese: cogitação (pt) f
• Sicilian: cugitazioni f
• Spanish: cogitación (es) f

Further reading

• “cogitation”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “cogitation”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

French

Etymology

Latinate learned borrowing from Medieval Latin cogitātiōnem (“act of pondering; reflection”), supplanting or reshaping variant forms from Middle French cogitatiun, Old French cogitaciun, cogitacion, from Vulgar Latin cōgitātiōnem; compare Middle English cogitacioun, English cogitation. Ultimately from Latin cōgitō (“to turn over in the mind; think, consider, ponder, meditate”) from con- (“together, with”) +‎ agitō (“to put in constant motion, drive at something; devise, plot, contrive”), verbal root from Proto-Italic *agō (“to drive, impel”) from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ.ʒi.ta.sjɔ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

cogitation f (plural cogitations)

1. cogitation

Further reading

• “cogitation”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.