In linguistics, a cognate object is a verb's object that is cognate with 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. Cognate objects exist in many languages, including various unrelated ones; for example, they exist in Arabic, Chichewa, English, German, Hebrew, Icelandic, and Russian. [1] Linguistics is the scientific study of human language, and someone who engages in this study is called a linguist or linguistician. ... A verb is a part of speech that usually denotes action (bring, read), occurrence (decompose, glitter), or a state of being (exist, stand). Depending on the language, a verb may vary in form according to many factors, possibly including its tense, aspect, mood and voice. ... An object in grammar is a sentence element and part of the sentence predicate. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In grammar, an intransitive verb is an action verb that takes no object. ... A noun, or noun substantive, is a part of speech (a word or phrase) which can co-occur with (in)definite articles and attributive adjectives, and function as the head of a noun phrase. ... The Arabic language (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), or simply Arabic (Arabic: ‎ translit: ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Chichewa (Chicheŵa in Malawian English) is one of the two official national languages of the Republic of Malawi, the other being English. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Hebrew (עִבְרִית ‘Ivrit) is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by more than seven million people in Israel with the West Bank, the United States, and Jewish communities around the world. ...

Cognate objects in English

In English, the construction can occur with a number of intransitive verbs:

• He slept a troubled sleep. (i.e., He slept, and his sleep was troubled.)
• He laughed a bitter laugh. (i.e., He laughed bitterly.)
• He died a painful death. (i.e., He died painfully.)
• He dreamed a strange dream. (i.e., He dreamed, and his dream was strange.)
• He walked their walk and talked their talk. (i.e., He walked and talked as they did.)

In some of these cases, the cognate object allows for a simpler construction; in others, it may simply be chosen for idiomatic or rhetorical reasons. In general, the cognate object's modifiers are in some sense modifying the verb: for example, He slept a troubled sleep tells how he slept. An idiom is an expression (ie. ... Rhetoric from Greek ρήτωρ, rhêtôr, orator) is the art or technique of persuasion, usually through the use of language. ...

While a similar construction can occur with many transitive verbs — He drank his drink, for example — it is generally intended literally in these cases. For example, He drank his drink really tells what he drank, not how he drank. (It is possible to say, He drank a quick drink, but the cognate object is not necessary for this; it is also possible to say, He drank a quick coffee.) For this reason, these are not generally considered "cognate object" constructions, even though they literally contain objects that are cognate with their verbs.

See also

• Pleonasm (the use of more words than necessary to express an idea)
• Polyptoton (a stylistic scheme in which words derived from the same root are repeated)