Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Cogent

Cogent , adjective

[Latin cogens, present participle of cogere to drive together, to force; co- + agere to drive. See Agent, a., and compare Coact to force, Coagulate, p. a.]

1.
Compelling, in a physical sense; powerful. [Obsolete]
The cogent force of nature. — Prior
2.
Having the power to compel conviction or move the will; constraining; conclusive; forcible; powerful; not easily resisted.
No better nor more cogent reason. — Dr. H. More
Proofs of the most cogent description. — Tyndall
The tongue whose strains were cogent as commands, Revered at home, and felt in foreign lands. — Cowper