cogent
/ˈkoʊdʒənt/adjective
Clear, logical, and persuasive
From Latin cō (Together) + Latin agō (Drive).
Lineage
cō
agō
The story
Picture a driver pushing a herd into a tight group: that physical image lies behind Latin cōgere, “to drive together,” formed from cō- (“together”) and agere (“to drive”). Its participle cōgēns described something compelling, and French passed the form along as cogent, meaning “necessary” or “urgent.” English adopted it in the 1650s, shifting the emphasis from force on bodies to force on belief: a cogent argument drives your thoughts toward agreement. The same Latin agere also gave English agent and agenda—one who acts, and the things to be done—so a cogent case is, in a sense, an argument that gets your mind moving in one direction.
Modern usage
Urban Dictionary entries use “Cogent” for a low-cost, low-quality internet bandwidth provider and, separately, as an obscure vulgar adjective.
- Heard in
- internet slang · obscure vulgar slang