Meaning

noun having knowledge of

noun range of what one can know or understand

noun range or scope of what is perceived

originFrom Middle English conysaunce, from Old French conysance (“recognition," later, "knowledge”), from Old French conoissance (“acquaintance, recognition; knowledge, wisdom”), from conoistre (“to know”), from Latin cognōscō (“know”), from con- (“with”) + gnōscō (“know”). By surface analysis, cogniz(e) (a back-formation) + -ance.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0