Ken
Contents
English
Noun
Ken (uncountable)- Knowledge or perception.
- (nautical) Range of sight.
Notes
In common usage a fossil word , found only in the phrase beyond one’s ken.
Coordinate terms
- (nautical range of sight): offing
Quotations
- For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.
Verb
Ken (third-person singular simple present kens, present participle kenning, simple past and past participle kenned or kent)
- (transitive) To know, perceive or understand.
- (obsolete) To discover by sight; to catch sight of; to descry.
- 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):
- I proposed to the Mariners, that it would be of great benefit in Navigation to make use of [the telescope] upon the round-top of a ship, to discover and kenne Vessels afar off.
- 1662 Thomas Salusbury, Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems (Dialogue 2):
Quotations
- For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.
Related terms
Adjectives for Ken
inscrutable; human; widest.
Thesaurus
absorb, acquaintance, appreciate, apprehend, assimilate, be acquainted with, be apprised of, be aware of, be cognizant of, be conscious of, be conversant with, be informed, be with one, behold, catch, catch on, catch sight of, clap eyes on, clear sight, cognize, color vision, command, comprehend, comprehension, conceive, conceptualize, cone vision, corpus, data, datum, day vision, daylight vision, descry, dig, digest, discern, discernment, discover, distinguish, domination, espy, experience, expertise, eye, eye-mindedness, eyereach, eyeshot, eyesight, facts, factual base, familiarity, farsight, farsightedness, fathom, field of view, field of vision, follow, get, get hold of, get the drift, get the idea, get the picture, glimpse, grasp, have, have in sight, have information about, have it taped, have knowledge of, horizon, information, intelligence, intimacy, keen sight, know, know-how, knowing, knowledge, lay eyes on, learn, limit of vision, line of sight, look on, look upon, make out, master, naked eye, night vision, notice, observe, outlook, outlook over, perceive, perception, peripheral field, peripheral vision, perspective, perspicacity, perspicuity, photopia, pick out, possess, power of sight, practical knowledge, prehend, private knowledge, privity, prospect, purview, quick sight, range, ratio cognoscendi, reach, read, realize, recognize, rod vision, savvy, scan, scope, scope of vision, scotopia, see, seeing, seize, seize the meaning, self-knowledge, sense, sense of sight, sight, sightedness, sightliness, spot, spy, survey, sweep, take, take in, technic, technics, technique, twig, twilight vision, understand, understanding, unobstructed vision, view, vision, vista, visual acuity, visual field, visual sense, witness, wot, wot of
Etymology
Northern and Scottish dialects from Old English cennan (“make known, declare, acknowledge”) originally “make to know”, causative of cunnan (“to become acquainted with, to know”), from Old Norse kenna (“know, perceive”), from Proto-Germanic *kannijanan, causative of Proto-Germanic *kunnanan (“be able”). Cognate to German kennen (“to know, be acquainted with someone/something”).
The noun meaning “range of sight” is a nautical abbreviation of present participle kenning.
Pronunciation
Translations
Noun
Verb
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]
- Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989
Dutch
Verb
Ken
Pronunciation
- IPA: /kɛn/
Anagrams
Finnish
(index ke)
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.
Etymology
From the same Uralic root *ki as Hungarian ki.
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: ken
- Rhymes: -en
- IPA: [ken]
Inflection
- See kuka.
Notes
- Ken is archaic in tone (or dialectal).
Synonyms
Hungarian
Verb
Ken
- to smear
Conjugation
Infinitive | kenni | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Past participle | kent | |||||||
Present participle | kenő | |||||||
Future participle | kenendő | |||||||
Adverbial participle | kenve | |||||||
Potential | kenhet | |||||||
1st person sg. | 2nd person sg. informal | 3rd person sg., 2nd person sg. formal |
1st person pl. | 2nd person pl. informal | 3rd person pl., 2nd person pl. formal | |||
Indicative Mood | Present | Indefinite | kenek | kensz | Ken | kenünk | kentek | kennek |
Definite | kenem én téged/titeket kenlek |
kened | keni | kenjük | kenitek | kenik | ||
Past | Indefinite | kentem | kentél | kent | kentünk | kentetek | kentek | |
Definite | kentem én téged/titeket kentelek |
kented | kente | kentük | kentétek | kenték | ||
Conditional Mood | Present | Indefinite | kennék | kennél | kenne | kennénk | kennétek | kennének |
Definite | kenném én téged/titeket kennélek |
kennéd | kenné | kennénk | kennétek | kennék | ||
Subjunctive Mood | Present | Indefinite | kenjek | kenj or kenjél |
kenjen | kenjünk | kenjetek | kenjenek |
Definite | kenjem én téged/titeket kenjelek |
kend or kenjed |
kenje | kenjük | kenjétek | kenjék | ||
Conjugated Infinitive | kennem | kenned | kennie | kennünk | kennetek | kenniük |
Etymology
Of unknown origin.
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈkɛn/
Derived terms
- With verb prefixes
Japanese
Conjunction
Noun
Ken (hiragana けん)
- 剣: sword
- 県: prefecture
Kurdish
Noun
Ken
Mandarin
Pinyin syllable
ken
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 the appropriate indication of tone.
Scots
Noun
Ken (uncountable)Verb
tae Ken (third-person singular simple present kens, present participle kennin, simple past kent, past participle kent)
- (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?"
Etymology
From Old English cennan (“make known, declare, acknowledge”), originally "make to know", causative of cunnan (“to become acquainted with, to know”).
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