cogitation

[koj-i-tey-shuh n]

noun

concerted thought or reflection; meditation; contemplation: After hours of cogitation he came up with a new proposal.

the faculty of thinking: She was a serious student and had a great power of cogitation.

a thought; design or plan: to jot down one's cogitations.

Origin of cogitation

1175–1225; Middle English cogitaciun < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin cōgitātiōn- (stem of cōgitātiō), equivalent to cōgitāt(us) (see cogitate) + -iōn- -ion

Related formspre·cog·i·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for cogitations

cerebration, contemplation, reflection, deliberation, rumination, consideration, speculation, meditation, brainwork

Examples from the Web for cogitations

Historical Examples of cogitations

His cogitations were interrupted by the sound of voices in the adjoining room.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
The result of my cogitations was the resolution to take care of myself.
Wilfrid Cumbermede
George MacDonald
The sharp ring of the telephone put an end to his cogitations.
The Crevice
William John Burns and Isabel Ostrander
Madge reached for the object of her cogitations and inserted it in the lock.
Madge Morton's Secret
Amy D. V. Chalmers
I have related all this as I recollect it in order to show the reader the nature of my cogitations.
Boyhood
Leo Tolstoy

Word Origin and History for cogitations

cogitation

c.1200, "thought, idea, notion," from Old French cogitacion "thought, consideration, reflection," from Latin cogitationem (nominative cogitatio), noun of action from past participle stem of cogitare "to think, reflect, consider, turn over in the mind," apparently from co-agitare, from com- "together" (see co-) + agitare, here in a sense of "to turn over in the mind," literally "to put in constant motion, drive, impel," frequentative of agere "to move, drive" (see agitation).