Identifying someone or something you've seen before; also acknowledging or admitting something is true.
From Latin recognoscere (to know again), from re- (again) and cognoscere (to know). The -ing suffix makes it a present participle, with British spelling using 's' instead of 'z'.
The prefix 're-' means 'again,' so recognizing literally means 'knowing again'—which is why it describes both identifying familiar faces and accepting a known truth as valid.
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