ken

ken · verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kanjaną
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kannjan
3. Old English · inherited fromcennan“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget”
4. Middle English · inherited fromkennen“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget; to develop (as a fetus), hatch out (of eggs); to sustain, nourish, nurture”
5. English todayken

From Middle English kennen (“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget; to develop (as a fetus), hatch out (of eggs); to sustain, nourish, nurture”), from Old English cennan (“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget”), from Proto-West Germanic *kannjan, from Proto-Germanic *kanjaną.

ken · verb²

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*kannijaną
2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*kannijan
3. Old English · inherited fromcennan“make known, declare, acknowledge”
4. Middle English · inherited fromkennen
5. English todayken

Northern English dialects and Scots language from Middle English kennen, from Old English cennan (“make known, declare, acknowledge”) originally “to make known”, causative of cunnan (“to become acquainted with, to know”), from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną, causative of *kunnaną (“be able”), from which comes the verb can. Cognate with West Frisian kenne (“to know; recognise”), Dutch kennen (“to know”), German kennen (“to know, be acquainted with someone/something”), Norwegian Bokmål kjenne, Norwegian Nynorsk kjenna, Old Norse kenna (“to know, perceive”), Swedish känna (“to know, feel”), Danish kende (“to know”). See also: can, con.

ken · noun³

From a nautical abbreviation of Middle English kenning, present participle of the verb kennen (“to make known, point out, reveal; to direct, instruct, teach; to know, perceive”).

ken · noun⁴

Of unknown origin. Perhaps from kennel.

ken · noun⁵

1. Hebrew · borrowed fromקֵן“nest”
2. English todayken

From Hebrew קֵן (qēn, “nest”).

ken · noun⁶

1. Japanese · borrowed from間
2. Japanese · borrowed from間
3. English todayken

Borrowed from Japanese 間.

ken · noun⁷

1. Japanese · borrowed from剣
2. Japanese · borrowed from剣
3. English todayken

Borrowed from Japanese 剣.

Words from the same roots