ken

See also: Ken, KEN, kén, kèn, kēn, kěn, and -ken

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn

Etymology 1

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-Germanic *kannijaną.

Verb

ken (third-person singular simple present kens, present participle kenning, simple past and past participle kenned)

1. (obsolete) To give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life).
   • The Treatise on The Paster Noster (15th c.)

     To the soul this ghostly bread is the learning and the teaching and the understanding in the commandments of God, wherethrough the soul is kenned and lives.

Etymology 2

Northern and Scottish dialects 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-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 (“know, perceive”).

The noun meaning “range of sight” is a nautical abbreviation of present participle kenning.

Noun

ken (uncountable)

1. Knowledge, perception, or sight.
   • 1957, United States Congressional serial set - Issue 11976:

     These people, these 20 or 25, were in my ken. Senator Jenner. In his what? Mr. Greenglass. My ken, my line of vision, my knowledge.

   • 1977, Roulhac Toledano, ‎Sally Kittredge Evans, The Esplanade Ridge:

     On this occasion, I wrote to them: "Two more modest and deserving people than you are not in our ken; and it is but fitting that you receive this, preservation's most prestigious prize, for your selfless devotion to the cause through the years.

   • 1999, Catherine Z. Elgin, Considered Judgment:

     Since nothing in our ken differentiates knowledge from luck, something beyond our ken is introduced to do so. But the conviction that we know something is small comfort when coupled with the realization that we cannot tell what.

   • 2012, Keith McCarthy, Nor All Your Tears:

     I couldn't see the funny side myself, but Tristan could; after a while he could hardly control his merriment, in fact, so that he collapsed back on the bed, continuing to chortle, more of his rather unpleasant teeth making an unwelcome appearance in my ken.

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

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see Citations:ken.

Translations

knowledge or perception

• Russian: кругозо́р (ru) m (krugozór)

range of sight

• Finnish: näkyvyys (fi)

Verb

ken (third-person singular simple present kens, present participle kenning, simple past and past participle kenned or kent)

1. (transitive, chiefly Scotland) To know, perceive or understand.
2. (obsolete, chiefly 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 [the telescope] upon the round-top of a ship, to discover and kenne Vessels afar off.

   • Addison

     We ken them from afar.

   • Shakespeare: Troilus and Cressida Act4 Sc5 line14

     'Tis he. I ken the manner of his gait.

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see Citations:ken.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• beken
• foreken
• kenned
• kenning

• misken
• underken
• unkenned

Translations

to know, perceive or understand

• German: kennen (de)
• Italian: comprendere (it), capire (it), intendere (it)
• Low German:

  German Low German: kennen (nds)

• Russian: знать (ru) (znatʹ)
• Spanish: conocer (es)

References

• The New Geordie Dictionary, Frank Graham, 1987, ISBN 0946928118
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• A List of words and phrases in everyday use by the natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham, F.M.T.Palgrave, English Dialect Society vol.74, 1896, [1]
• Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977[2]
• “ken” in John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors, The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, ISBN 978-0-19-861186-8.

Etymology 3

Perhaps from kennel.

Noun

ken (plural kens)

1. (slang, Britain, obsolete) A house, especially a den of thieves.
   • 1828, Bulwer-Lytton, Edward, Pelham: or The Adventures of a Gentleman^[3], page 383:

     Ah, Bess, my covess, strike me blind if my sees don't tout your bingo muns in spite of the darkmans. Egad, you carry a bene blink aloft. Come to the ken alone—no! my blowen; did not I tell you I should bring a pater cove, to chop up the whiners for Dawson?

   • 1851, Mayhew, Henry, London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1, page 351:

     Up she goes to any likely ken, where she knows there are women that are married or expect to get married, and commences begging.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• boozing ken (“pub”)
• bousing ken (“pub”)
• dunniken (“outhouse”)

• queer ken (“prison”)
• spellken (“theatre”)
• wapping ken (“brothel”)

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Afrikaans

Noun

ken (plural kenne)

1. chin

Verb

ken (present ken, present participle kennende, past participle geken)

1. To know (a person, a thing), be acquainted with

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Breton

Adverb

ken

1. exclamative adverb

   ken (bras) ― so (big)

2. equality adverb

   (n'eo ket) ken (bras ha me) ― (he/she is not )so (big as me)

3. negative adverb

   (n'ouzon ket) ken

   (I don't know) any more

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Dupaningan Agta

Noun

ken

1. skirt

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Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• IPA^(key): /kɛn/

Verb

ken

1. first-person singular present indicative of kennen
2. imperative of kennen

Anagrams

• nek, enk

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Finnish

(index ke)

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ken, from Proto-Uralic *ki. Cognate with Hungarian ki and Ter Sami kie.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈken/
• Hyphenation: ken
• Rhymes: -en

Pronoun

ken

1. (interrogative, archaic) who; (when followed by a modifier in elative case, -sta/-stä) which one (of + a noun referring to people).
2. (indefinite, archaic) whoever.

Inflection

• See kuka.

Usage notes

• Ken is archaic in tone (or dialectal).

Synonyms

• (who): kuka
• (whoever): kuka tahansa

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Hungarian

Etymology

Of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɛn]

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

ken

1. (transitive) to smear

Conjugation

conjugation of ken

Infinitive			kenni
Past participle			kent
Present participle			kenő
Future participle			kenendő
Adverbial participle			kenve
Potential			kenhet
			1st person sg	2nd person sg informal	3rd person sg, 2nd person sg formal	1st person pl	2nd person pl informal	3rd person pl, 2nd person pl formal
Indicative mood	Present	Indefinite	kenek	kensz	ken	kenünk	kentek	kennek
		Definite	kenem én téged/titeket kenlek	kened	keni	kenjük	kenitek	kenik
	Past	Indefinite	kentem	kentél	kent	kentünk	kentetek	kentek
		Definite	kentem én téged/titeket kentelek	kented	kente	kentük	kentétek	kenték
Conditional mood	Present	Indefinite	kennék	kennél	kenne	kennénk	kennétek	kennének
		Definite	kenném én téged/titeket kennélek	kennéd	kenné	kennénk	kennétek	kennék
Subjunctive mood	Present	Indefinite	kenjek	kenj or kenjél	kenjen	kenjünk	kenjetek	kenjenek
		Definite	kenjem én téged/titeket kenjelek	kend or kenjed	kenje	kenjük	kenjétek	kenjék
Conjugated infinitive			kennem	kenned	kennie	kennünk	kennetek	kenniük

Derived terms

• kence
• kenés
• kenet

(With verbal prefixes):

• beken
• elken
• felken
• fölken
• kiken
• leken
• megken
• odaken
• összeken
• ráken
• szétken

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Japanese

Romanization

ken

1. Rōmaji transcription of けん
2. Rōmaji transcription of ケン

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Kurdish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɛn/

Noun

ken ?

1. laugh
2. smile

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Ladino

Etymology

From Latin quĕm, accusative of qui.

Pronoun

ken (Latin spelling, Hebrew spelling קיין‏)

1. who, whom
2. whoever, whomever

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Mandarin

Romanization

ken

1. Nonstandard spelling of kén.
2. Nonstandard spelling of kěn.
3. Nonstandard spelling of kèn.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

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Scots

Etymology

From Old English cennan (“make known, declare, acknowledge”), originally "make to know", causative of cunnan (“to become acquainted with, to know”); from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną.

Noun

ken (uncountable)

1. knowledge or perception

Verb

ken (third-person singular present kens, present participle kennin, past kent, past participle kent)

1. (transitive) To know, perceive or understand.

   Do ye ken John Peel with his coat so gay? - 19th century Cumbrian ballad

   • Dae ye ken Ken kens Ken?

     Do you know Ken knows Ken?"

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Tok Pisin

Etymology

English can

Verb

ken

1. can
   • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Genesis 1:29 (translation here):

     Na God i tok olsem, “Mi givim yupela ol kain kain diwai na gras i karim pikinini bilong kaikai. Na yupela i ken kisim kaikai long ol dispela samting.

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

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Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *ken.

Pronoun

ken (genitive kenen, partitive keda)

1. who (interrogative)

Inflection

Inflection of ken
nominative sing.	ken
genitive sing.	kenen
partitive sing.	keda
partitive plur.	—
	singular	plural
nominative	ken	—
accusative	kenen	—
genitive	kenen	—
partitive	keda	—
essive-instructive	kenen	—
translative	keneks	—
inessive	kes kenes	—
elative	kespäi kenespäi	—
illative	kehe kenehe	—
adessive	kel kenel	—
ablative	kelpäi kenelpäi	—
allative	kelle kenele	—
abessive	keneta	—
comitative	kenenke	—
prolative	kedame	—
approximative I	kenenno	—
approximative II	kenennoks	—
egressive	kenennopäi	—
terminative I	kehesai kenehesai	—
terminative II	kellesai kenelesai	—
terminative III	—	—
additive I	kehepäi kenehepäi	—
additive II	kellepäi kenelepäi	—

Derived terms

• ken-ni
• ken-se
• koje-ken
• niken

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “кто”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary], Petrozavodsk: Periodika