Cognate Defined — Yama and Ymir

“‘Cognate’ means that a sound, word and/or its meaning has the same root; that, say, Yama and Ymir, which correspond phonologically (they sound alike), also complement each other semantically (they both have complementary meanings: they both died so as to guide us who come after them into the underworld), and they fulfil the same function.”

Source: Expanding Mental Models · (Section 7: First Aryans in Judea)

Clear, accessible definition of “cognate” using the Yama/Ymir example. Essential methodological passage for readers new to comparative linguistics.

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