Ken

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -É›n

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 *kannijaną, causative of *kunnaną ("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.

Full definition of ken

Noun

1. Knowledge or perception.
2. (nautical) Range of sight.

Usage notes

In common usage a fossil word, found only in the phrase beyond one’s ken.

Coordinate terms

• (nautical range of sight) offing

Verb

1. (transitive, mostly, Scotland) To know, perceive or understand.
2. (obsolete, mostly, Scotland) 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 telescope upon the round-top of a ship, to discover and kenne Vessels afar off.
• AddisonWe ken them from afar.''
• Shakespeare'Tis he. I ken the manner of his gait.

Derived terms

• beken
• foreken
• kenned
• kenning
• misken
• underken
• unkenned

Perhaps from kennel.

Noun

1. (slang, UK, obsolete) A house, especially a den of thieves.----