beken

B3E1K5E1N1
/bɪˈkɛn//bəˈkɛn/

verb

To make known; reveal.

OriginMiddle English bekennen →
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Meanings

verbbeken (third-person singular simple present bekens, present participle bekenning, simple past and past participle bekenned or bekent)

present singular third person bekens · participle present bekenning · participle past bekenned · past bekenned · participle past bekent · past bekent

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo make known; reveal.
  2. obsoletetransitiveTo deliver.
  3. obsoletetransitiveTo commit or commend to the care of.

    Now I bikenne þe criste quod she · and his clene moder.

    c. 1385, William Langland, Piers Plowman, section II
  4. ScotlandtransitiveTo commit.
  5. ScotlandtransitiveTo admit as possessor.
  6. ScotlandtransitiveTo acquaint; instruct.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishbekennen
  2. Englishbeken

From Middle English bekennen, bikennen, equivalent to be- + ken (“to perceive”). Cognate with Dutch bekennen (“to acknowledge, confess”), German bekennen (“to admit, confess”), Swedish bekänna (“to profess, confess”).

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Benkenebek
Cite this entry
APA

beken. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beken

MLA

“beken.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beken. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beken,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beken.

Source: beken on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.