Incognito means travelling or appearing under a hidden identity. Travel incognito, go incognito, an incognito visit.
It implies keeping a known identity out of sight rather than inventing a false one, which is why it suits royalty, celebrities and inspectors. In browsers, incognito mode stops the history being saved locally and is widely misunderstood as hiding you from everybody, which it does not. Note that the Italian means unknown, and that the word arrived as one piece.
1adverbincognitoUnder a hidden identity.
“The famous singer travelled incognito, wearing dark glasses and a hat.”
incognito is a state of concealed identity.
Italian incognito comes from Latin incognitus, unknown — in- plus cognitus, known, from cognoscere. Recognise, cognition and notice come from the same knowing.
Proto-Indo-European
*ǵneh₃-
Latin
incognitus — unknown
Italian
incognito
English, today
incognito
Italian incognito, from Latin incognitus (“unknown”), from in- + cognitus, perfect passive participle of cognoscere.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA