Which description matches a partial cognate?

Which description matches a partial cognate?

• A. Same origin, similar meaning, different spelling
• B. Same origin, same meaning, different spelling
• C. Different origin, similar meaning
• D. Same origin, different meaning

Answer: (A)

Partial cognates are word pairs that come from the same parent language and share a related meaning, but their spellings have diverged enough that they don’t look the same today. That makes the description a perfect fit: both words trace back to the same origin, their meanings are similar, yet their spellings are different. If two words had exactly the same meaning and only varied in spelling, that would be a full cognate; if the origins were different, they wouldn’t be cognates at all; and if the same origin produced meanings that aren’t close, that wouldn’t describe a partial cognate.

Partial cognates are word pairs that come from the same parent language and share a related meaning, but their spellings have diverged enough that they don’t look the same today. That makes the description a perfect fit: both words trace back to the same origin, their meanings are similar, yet their spellings are different. If two words had exactly the same meaning and only varied in spelling, that would be a full cognate; if the origins were different, they wouldn’t be cognates at all; and if the same origin produced meanings that aren’t close, that wouldn’t describe a partial cognate.