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Cognate vs Elective - What's the difference?

cognate | elective |

As adjectives the difference between cognate and elective

is that cognate is allied by blood; kindred by birth; specifically related on the mother's side while elective is of, or pertaining to voting or elections.

As nouns the difference between cognate and elective

is that cognate is one of a number of things allied in origin or nature while elective is something that is option or that may be elected, especially a course of tertiary study.

cognate

Adjective

(-)
  • Allied by blood; kindred by birth; specifically (legal) related on the mother's side.
  • Of the same or a similar nature; of the same family; proceeding from the same stock or root; allied; kindred.
  • (linguistics) Either descended from the same attested source lexeme of an ancestor language, or held on the grounds of the methods of historical linguistics to be regular reflexes of the unattested, reconstructed form of a proto-language.
  • English mother is cognate to Greek .
    In English, queen is cognate''' to quean, both of which are '''cognate to Russian , Icelandic kona and Irish bean.
    In English, shirt is cognate to skirt, both descended from the Proto-Indo-European root *sker-, meaning "to cut".

    Derived terms

    * cognateness

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One of a number of things allied in origin or nature.
  • (legal, dated) One who is related to another on the female side.
  • (legal, dated) One who is related to another, both having descended from a common ancestor through legal marriages.
  • A word either descended from the same base word of the same ancestor language as the given word, or strongly believed to be a regular reflex of the same reconstructed root of proto-language as the given word.
  • English mother is a cognate of Greek .
    English queen and (quean), Russian , Icelandic kona and Irish bean are all cognates .

    Derived terms

    * false cognate * cognacy

    References

    * (projectlink)

    See also

    * derivation * etymology * etymon * root * false friend * agnate ----

    elective

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of, or pertaining to voting or elections
  • That involves a choice between options; optional or discretionary
  • My insurance wouldn't pay for the operation because it was elective surgery.
  • * Bancroft
  • The independent use of their elective franchise.
  • * Dryden
  • Kings of Rome were at first elective

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is option or that may be elected, especially a course of tertiary study.