Named after Cognac in southwestern France, from Gallo-Roman *Conniacum — brandy produced there since the 16th century.
A high-quality brandy distilled in the Cognac region of southwestern France.
From the town of Cognac in the Charente department of southwestern France, where the brandy has been produced since the late sixteenth century. The town name 'Cognac' derives from the Gallo-Roman personal name 'Connius' or 'Comnius' with the Gaulish locative suffix '-acum' (meaning 'estate of' or 'place of'), producing *Conniacum — 'the estate of Connius.' This was a standard pattern in Gaulish place-naming: a Roman or Romanized Gaulish landowner's name plus '-acum.' Dutch and English merchants were instrumental in developing the cognac trade in the 17th century. Key roots: -acum (Gaulish: "estate
The '-ac' ending in 'Cognac' is the same Gaulish suffix '-acum' found in hundreds of French place names: Armagnac, Aurillac, Bergerac, Figeac, Cognac. It meant 'estate of' and was attached to a landowner's name. The same suffix appears as '-ach' in German (Aachen from *Aquis-acum) and '-y' in many northern French names (Chantilly from *Cantilliacum). A single Gaulish suffix shaped the map of France.