ken
Definitions from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
Contents |
[ English
[ Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -ɛn
[ Etymology
Northern dialect and Scots from Old English cennan "make known, declare, acknowledge," originally "make to know," causative of cunnan "to become acquainted with, to know". The noun meaning "range of sight" is a nautical abbreviation of present participle kenning.
[ Noun
|
Singular |
Plural |
ken (uncountable)
- Knowledge or perception.
- (nautical) Range of sight.
[ Quotations
- 1816, John Keats, On First Looking into Chapman's Homer, lines 9-10
- Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
- When a new planet swims into his ken;
[ Verb
to ken (third-person singular simple present kens, present participle kenning, simple past and past participle kenned or kent)
- (transitive) To know, perceive or understand.
[ Quotations
- 1793, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christabel
- and he kenned
- In the beautiful lady the child of his friend !
[ Related terms
[ References
- The New Geordie Dictionary, Frank Graham, 1987, ISBN 0946928118
- Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893-4[1]
- A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896, [2]
- Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977[3]
[ Dutch
[ Verb
ken
[ Finnish
(index ke)
[ Etymology
From the same Uralic root *ki as Hungarian ki.
[ Pronunciation
[ Pronoun
ken
- (interrogative, archaic) who; (when followed by a modifier in elative case, -sta/-stä) which one (of + a noun referring to people).
- (indefinite, archaic) whoever.
[ Inflection
- See kuka.
[ Usage notes
- Ken is archaic in tone.
[ Synonyms
[ Hungarian
[ Verb
ken
[ Japanese
[ Conjunction
[ Noun
ken (hiragana けん)
- 剣: sword
- 県: prefecture
[ Kurdish
[ Noun
ken
[ Mandarin
[ Pinyin syllable
ken
- A transliteration of any of a number of Chinese characters properly represented as having one of three tones, kén, kěn, or kèn.
[ Usage notes
English transcriptions of Chinese speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Chinese language, using words such as this one without thee appropriate indication of tone.
[ Scots
[ Etymology
From Old English cennan "make known, declare, acknowledge," originally "make to know," causative of cunnan "to become acquainted with, to know".
[ Noun
ken (uncountable)
|
Singular |
Plural |
- Knowledge or perception.
[ Verb
tae ken (third-person singular simple present kens, present participle kennin, simple past kent, past participle kent)
|
Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
- (transitive) To know, perceive or understand.
- Do ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? - 18th century ballad
- Dae ye ken Ken kens Ken?
- Do you know Ken knows Ken?"
Hear it pronounced