cun

C3U1N1
/kʌn/Ireland, Northern England/kʊn//tsuːn/

verb

To know.

OriginMiddle English cunnen ← Old English cunnan ← Proto-West Germanic *kunnan →
UncommonScrabble 5
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Meanings

cun1

verbcun (third-person singular simple present cuns, present participle cunning, simple past and past participle cunned)

present singular third person cuns · participle present cunning · participle past cunned · past cunned

  1. obsoleteTo know.

cun2

verbcun (third-person singular simple present cuns, present participle cunning, simple past and past participle cunned)

present singular third person cuns · participle present cunning · participle past cunned · past cunned

  1. alternativeAlternative form of conn (“direct or steer a ship”).

cun3

nouncun (plural cuns or cun)

plural cuns · alternative tsun

  1. A traditional Chinese unit of length, originally the width of a person's thumb at the knuckle.

Origin

cun · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ǵneh₃-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ǵn̥néh₃ti
  3. Proto-Germanic*kunnaną
  4. Proto-West Germanic*kunnan
  5. Old Englishcunnan
  6. Middle Englishcunnen
  7. Englishcun

From Middle English cunnen, connen, from Old English cunnan (“to know, know how (to)”), from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną (“to know”). Doublet of con.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

cun · verb

See conn, cond.

Full word history & related roots →

cun · noun

  1. Chinese寸
  2. Englishcun

From Chinese 寸 (cùn). Doublet of sun.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with cun

sunrunfundonenoneeveryonesonwongunbeguntonDunndunnunbunGunnpunstuntonneundonererunshunmunthon
All rhymes →

Anagrams

uncnuc
Cite this entry
APA

cun. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cun

MLA

“cun.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cun. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cun,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cun.

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