1
Stage 1 of 4
recognoscere
Latin · ancient
"to recognize, know again"
re- 'again' plus cognoscere 'to know'
2
Stage 2 of 4
reconoistre
Old French · 1100s
"recognition, acknowledgement"
gave rise to a noun for the act of recognizing or acknowledging
3
Stage 3 of 4
reconnaissance
French · 1700s-1800s
"preliminary military survey of a territory"
specialized during the Napoleonic Wars into a term for surveying enemy territory
4
Stage 4 of 4
reconnaissance
English · 1810
"examination of enemy territory to gather information"
adopted directly for the military sense
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