Cognate object

In linguistics, a cognate object (also known as a cognate accusative or an internal accusative[1]) is a verb's object that is etymologically related to the verb. More specifically, the verb is one that is ordinarily intransitive (lacking any object), and the cognate object is simply the verb's noun form. For example, in the sentence He slept a troubled sleep, sleep is the cognate object of the verb slept. This construction also has a passive form. The passive is A troubled sleep was slept by him. Cognate objects exist in many languages, including various unrelated ones; for example,[2] they exist in Arabic, Chichewa, German, Ancient Greek,[3] Hebrew, Icelandic, Korean, Latin,[4] and Russian.

  1. ^ "The Accusative Case | Department of Classics". classics.osu.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-21.
  2. ^ Linguist list
  3. ^ Herbert Weir Smyth. A Greek grammar for colleges. page 355, section 1563: cognate accusative
  4. ^ Joseph Henry Allen, James Bradstreet Greenough. New Latin grammar for schools and colleges. p. 243, section 390: cognate accusative.