Recognition

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɹɛkəɡˈnɪʃən/

Origin

From Latin recognitionem (accusative of recognitio), from stem recognit, past participle of recognoscere.

Full definition of recognition

Noun

1. the act of recognizing or the condition of being recognizedHe looked at her for ten full minutes before recognition dawned.
• 1900, Charles W. Chesnutt, The House Behind the Cedars, Chapter I,Warwick observed, as they passed through the respectable quarter, that few people who met the girl greeted her, and that some others whom she passed at gates or doorways gave her no sign of recognition; from which he inferred that she was possibly a visitor in the town and not well acquainted.
2. an awareness that something observed has been observed before
3. acceptance as valid or trueThe law was a recognition of their civil rights.
• Schuster Hepaticae V|viiWith fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get...
4. official acceptance of the status of a new government by that of another country
5. honour, favourable note, or attentionThe charity gained plenty of recognition for its efforts, but little money.

Derived terms