nosco

Italian

Etymology

From Vulgar Latin nōscum, from Latin nōbīscum (“with us”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɔ.sko/
• Rhymes: -ɔsko
• Hyphenation: nò‧sco

Pronoun

nosco (poetic, archaic)

1. with us
   • 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXII”, in Purgatorio [Purgatory]‎^[1], lines 106–108; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     Euripide v’è nosco e Antifonte,
     Simonide, Agatone e altri piùe
     Greci che già di lauro ornar la fronte.

     With us is Euripides, and Antiphon, [and] Simonides, [and] Agatho, and many more Greeks who adorned their foreheads with laurel.

   • 1810 [c. 8^th century BCE], “Libro IV”, in Vincenzo Monti, transl., Iliade, translation of Ῑ̓λιάς (Īliás, Iliad) by Homer (in Epic Greek), lines 284–289; republished as Iliade di Omero‎^[3], 4^th edition, Milan: Società tipografica dei classici italiani, 1825:

     […] chi primiero
     L’accordo vïolò, pasto vedrassi
     Di voraci avoltoi, mentre captive
     Le dilette lor mogli in un co’ figli
     Noi nosco condurremo, Ilio distrutto.

     [original: ἀλλ’ οἵ περ πρότεροι ὑπὲρ ὅρκια δηλήσαντο
     τῶν ἤτοι αὐτῶν τέρενα χρόα γῦπες ἔδονται,
     ἡμεῖς αὖτ’ ἀλόχους τε φίλας καὶ νήπια τέκνα
     ἄξομεν ἐν νήεσσιν, ἐπὴν πτολίεθρον ἕλωμεν.]

     all’ hoí per próteroi hupèr hórkia dēlḗsanto
     tôn ḗtoi autôn térena khróa gûpes édontai,
     hēmeîs aût’ alókhous te phílas kaì nḗpia tékna
     áxomen en nḗessin, epḕn ptolíethron hélōmen.

     Those who first broke the agreement, will find themselves [being a] meal for voracious vultures, as we take with us their beloved wives—together with their children—as prisoners, [once] Troy [is] destroyed.

2. (by extension) among us
3. (by extension) towards or against us
4. (by extension) in our time

See also

• meco
• seco
• teco
• vosco

Further reading

• nosco in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Anagrams

• sonco

Latin

Alternative forms

• gnōscō

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-

Proto-Indo-European *-sḱéti

Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti

Proto-Italic *gnōskō

Latin nōscō

From earlier gnōscō, from Proto-Italic *gnōskō, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵn̥h₃sḱéti.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈnoːs.koː/, [ˈnoːs̠koː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈnos.ko/, [ˈnɔsko]

Verb

nōscō (present infinitive nōscere, perfect active nōvī, supine nōtum); third conjugation

1. to become acquainted with something, learn about it

   Synonyms: intellegō, cognosco, cerno, tongeo, prehendō

   • c. 45 BCE, Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 1.52:

     Cum igitur "nosce te" dicit, hoc dicit: "nosce animum tuum". Nam corpus quidem quasi vas est aut aliquod animi receptaculum.

     Therefore when he [the Pythian Apollo] says, "Know thyself", this is what it means: "Know your mind". The body is of course like a vase, or some other container for the mind.

2. (in perfect tenses and past participle) to know, recognize, be acquainted with, i.e.; in possession of knowledge

   Synonyms: agnōscō, cognōscō, inveniō, sentiō, cōnsciō, sapiō, sciō, scīscō, intellegō, percipiō, discernō, tongeō, cernō, audiō

   Antonyms: ignōrō, nesciō

   • 2 CE, Ovid, The Art of Love 1.1–2:

     Sī quis in hōc artem populō nōn nōvit amandī, / hoc legat et lēctō carmine doctus amet.

     If anyone does not know the art of loving, may they read this, and having both read the poem and been taught, love.

   • Hīc Nātus Ubīque Nōtus

     Born Here, Known Everywhere (motto of the Allende Institute in reference to Ignacio de Allende)

3. (rare) to recognize someone, be familiar with

   Synonyms: recognōscō, cognōscō, agnōscō

4. (euphemistic) to have had sex with, have ever slept with

   Synonym: cognōscō

   • c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, 72 :

     Dīcēbās quondam sōlum tē nōsse Catullum, / Lesbia, nec prae mē velle tenēre Iovem.

     You used to say, some time ago, that you only ever slept with [me] Catullus, Lesbia, and that you didn't want to hold [even] Jupiter more than me.

5. to accept a reason or excuse

   Synonyms: accipiō, cōnservō

6. (Late Latin, Christianity, in the perfect) to acknowledge, submit to (God)
   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Acta Apostolorum.19.15:

     Respondens autem spiritus nequam dixit eis, Iesum novi et Paulum scio, vos autem qui estis?

     A wicked spirit replied to them, "I acknowledge Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are all of you?

Conjugation

Conjugation of nōscō (third conjugation)
indicative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	nōscō	nōscis	nōscit	nōscimus	nōscitis	nōscunt
	imperfect	nōscēbam	nōscēbās	nōscēbat	nōscēbāmus	nōscēbātis	nōscēbant
	future	nōscam	nōscēs	nōscet	nōscēmus	nōscētis	nōscent
	perfect	nōvī	nōvistī, nōstī1	nōvit	nōvimus, nōmus1	nōvistis, nōstis1	nōvērunt, nōvēre, nōrunt1
	pluperfect	nōveram, nōram1	nōverās, nōrās1	nōverat, nōrat1	nōverāmus, nōrāmus1	nōverātis, nōrātis1	nōverant, nōrant1
	future perfect	nōverō, nōrō1	nōveris, nōris1	nōverit, nōrit1	nōverimus, nōrimus1	nōveritis, nōritis1	nōverint, nōrint1
passive	present	nōscor	nōsceris, nōscere	nōscitur	nōscimur	nōsciminī	nōscuntur
	imperfect	nōscēbar	nōscēbāris, nōscēbāre	nōscēbātur	nōscēbāmur	nōscēbāminī	nōscēbantur
	future	nōscar	nōscēris, nōscēre	nōscētur	nōscēmur	nōscēminī	nōscentur
	perfect	nōtus + present active indicative of sum
	pluperfect	nōtus + imperfect active indicative of sum
	future perfect	nōtus + future active indicative of sum
subjunctive		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	nōscam	nōscās	nōscat	nōscāmus	nōscātis	nōscant
	imperfect	nōscerem	nōscerēs	nōsceret	nōscerēmus	nōscerētis	nōscerent
	perfect	nōverim, nōrim1	nōverīs, nōrīs1	nōverit, nōrit1	nōverīmus, nōrīmus1	nōverītis, nōrītis1	nōverint, nōrint1
	pluperfect	nōvissem, nōssem1	nōvissēs, nōssēs1	nōvisset, nōsset1	nōvissēmus, nōssēmus1	nōvissētis, nōssētis1	nōvissent, nōssent1
passive	present	nōscar	nōscāris, nōscāre	nōscātur	nōscāmur	nōscāminī	nōscantur
	imperfect	nōscerer	nōscerēris, nōscerēre	nōscerētur	nōscerēmur	nōscerēminī	nōscerentur
	perfect	nōtus + present active subjunctive of sum
	pluperfect	nōtus + imperfect active subjunctive of sum
imperative		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
active	present	—	nōsce	—	—	nōscite	—
	future	—	nōscitō	nōscitō	—	nōscitōte	nōscuntō
passive	present	—	nōscere	—	—	nōsciminī	—
	future	—	nōscitor	nōscitor	—	—	nōscuntor
non-finite forms		active			passive
		present	perfect	future	present	perfect	future
infinitives		nōscere	nōvisse, nōsse1	nōtūrum esse	nōscī	nōtum esse	nōtum īrī
participles		nōscēns	—	nōtūrus	—	nōtus	nōscendus, nōscundus
verbal nouns		gerund				supine
		genitive	dative	accusative	ablative	accusative	ablative
		nōscendī	nōscendō	nōscendum	nōscendō	nōtum	nōtū

¹The verb "nōscō" and its compounds frequently drop the syllables "vi" and "ve" from their perfect, pluperfect and future perfect conjugations.

Derived terms

• agnōscō
• cognōscō
• dīnōscō
• ignōscō
• internōscō
• nōbilis
• nota
• nōtiō
• nōtor
• nōtus
• pernōscō
• praecognōscō
• praenōscō
• renōscō

 

References

• “nosco”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “nosco”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nosco in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[4], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to be acquainted with the history of one's own land: domestica (externa) nosse