reconnoitre

See also: reconnoître

English

Alternative forms

• reconnoiter (US)
• reconnaitre (archaic)
• reconnaître, reconnoître (rare)

Etymology

From French reconnoître (obsolete spelling of reconnaître), from Latin recognoscere (“to recognise”). There is also an obsolete 19th-century British English spelling reconnaitre, influenced by the modern French form.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtə/, [ˌɹʷɛkəˈnɔɪ̯tʰə]
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛkəˈnɔɪtɚ/, [ˌɹˠɛkəˈnɔɪ̯ɾɚ]

• Audio (US)

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Verb

reconnoitre (third-person singular simple present reconnoitres, present participle reconnoitring, simple past and past participle reconnoitred)

1. (transitive, intransitive, military) To perform a reconnaissance (of an area; an enemy position); to scout with the aim of gaining information.

   Our scout will reconnoitre the path ahead of our troops.

   • 1820, [Charles Robert Maturin], Melmoth the Wanderer: A Tale. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Company, and Hurst, Robinson, and Co., […], →OCLC, page 150:

     Not a drop of rain fell; the clouds went portentously off, like ships of war after reconnoitering a strong fort, to return with added strength and fury.

2. (obsolete) To recognise.
   • 1765, Horace Walpole, The Correspondence of Horace Walpole, with George Montagu, Esq:

     As to my person, it will not be so easy to reconnoitre it, for I question whether any of it will remain

Synonyms

• scout, survey

Translations

perform a reconnaissance — see reconnoiter

Noun

reconnoitre (plural reconnoitres)

1. An act or instance of reconnoitring.

   The pilot reported the findings of his reconnoitre.

Related terms

• recon
• recce
• reconnaissance

Translations

instance of reconnoitring — see reconnoiter

Anagrams

• reconnoiter