Ken
Definition, Meaning & Examples
Pronunciation /kɛn/ · Part of speech verb
Quick meaning: Ken is a verb meaning (transitive, chiefly Scotland) To know, perceive or understand.
Meaning
(transitive, chiefly Scotland) To know, perceive or understand.
More Meanings
- Range of perception.
- Knowledge, perception, or sight.
- (nautical) Range of sight.
- (Judaism) Youth or children's group.
- (obsolete) To give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life).
- (obsolete, chiefly Scotland) To discover by sight; to catch sight of; to descry.
- (slang, UK, regional, thieves' cant) A house, especially a den of thieves.
Example Sentences
We ken them from afar.
'Tis he. I ken the manner of his gate, / He riſes on the toe:
I had somehow the impression that he was on the point of letting go the ladder to swim away beyond my ken.
Ah thought he wis being harsh, flippant and show-oafy, until ah got sae far in. Now ah ken precisely what the cunt meant.
Word Forms
- kens
- kenning
- kenned
- kent
- kene
- kenim
Synonyms for ken
Depending on context, synonyms include cognizance.
Related Words
Related dictionary entries include cognizance, coombe, keene, fathom, kin, keen.
Related Dictionary Tools
Sources & Attribution
FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0
Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.