Etymology

knowing

K5N1O1W4I1N1G2

Today it means: Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent. Full definition →

First used 14th c.English know ← Middle English knowen ← Old English cnāwan
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵneh₃-
  2. Proto-Germanic*knēaną
  3. Proto-West Germanic*knāan
  4. Old Englishcnāwan
  5. Middle Englishknowen
  6. Englishknow
  7. English todayknowing

From know + -ing.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. Possessing knowledge or understanding; knowledgeable, intelligent.
  • from 16th c. Deliberate, wilful.
  • from 17th c. Shrewd or showing clever awareness; discerning.
  • from 18th c. Demonstrating knowledge of what is in fashion; stylish, chic.
  • from 19th c. Suggestive of private knowledge or understanding.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.