Were you aware of this useful word? If so, you were cognizant of the word and, we hope, how to use it. Cognizant means aware of something or knowing about something. The word can be traced back to the Latin root gnoscere, meaning “to know.” This root is shared with other words that have similar meanings: notice, recognize, prognosis, incognito.

Example: If you want to go skydiving, you must first sign a waiver stating that you are fully cognizant of the risks involved.

Knowledge of word origins and the basic building blocks of vocabulary – root words, suffixes, and prefixes – will help you quickly identify and define new words. Even if you don’t know the exact meaning of a word, if you can isolate one or more of its components, and know those meanings, you’ll be able to get the sense of the word and how it is used in the context of the sentence. This is particularly useful when you’re faced with a reading comprehension test, like those you’ll find on the GRE and SAT examinations. You’ll be given a paragraph (or two or three) and asked to read the paragraph, then answer a series of questions about the contents and meaning. If you’re unable to define some of the vocabulary words in the paragraph, you might not be able to answer the questions. However, knowing the roots of the words will give you a general idea of their meaning, and it will be easier to grasp the intent of the paragraph as a whole.

To practice this, select a paragraph or two from a text that you’re unfamiliar with – one that you suspect will contain words you don’t know – and read through the text, marking the words you’re unsure of. Before looking up the definitions, see if you can find the word roots, and use those to write in the general meaning of the words. Re-read the paragraph. Do you feel that you understand the paragraph, even without knowing exactly what each word means?

Keep a list of word roots that you encounter, and use them to identify the basic meaning of new words that you come across. It’s a quick and easy way to multiply your word knowledge.