Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗noun
A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something. · A petty contrivance; a toy. · Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity.
verb
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryTo crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise; to chink. · To speak affectedly.
Late Middle English, use as "special skill" from 1580. Possibly from 14th century Middle English krak, knack (“a sharp sound or blow”), knakke, knakken, from Middle Low German and of imitative origin, similar to Dutch knak (“snap, crack”). Latter cognate to German knacken (“to crack”). See also crack.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Middle English"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "krak"
},
"expansion": "Middle English krak"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gml",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Middle Low German"
},
{
"name": "onomatopoeic",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"title": "imitative"
},
"expansion": "imitative"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "nl",
"2": "knak",
"t": "snap, crack"
},
"expansion": "Dutch knak (“snap, crack”)"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "de",
"2": "knacken",
"3": "",
"4": "to crack"
},
"expansion": "German knacken (“to crack”)"
}
],
"links": [
[
"krak",
"krak#Middle_English"
],
[
"knack",
"knack#Middle_English"
],
[
"knakke",
"knakke#Middle_English"
],
[
"knakken",
"knakken#Middle_English"
],
[
"knak",
"knak#Dutch"
],
[
"knacken",
"knacken#German"
],
[
"crack",
"crack#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something.",
"A petty contrivance; a toy.",
"Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity."
],
"tags": [],
"recordId": "9f61ca192238042f0cf26b08999ef7b6b280c57e646fa8eec05ff3d4ae82ec4d",
"rawRecordSha256": "1002be64811da3312bde4906b93a90c8c7d25f64c3919e05d7da0e8ca472f287",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 237784
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise; to chink.",
"To speak affectedly."
],
"tags": [
"UK",
"dialectal",
"obsolete"
],
"recordId": "d1d1eba63edb61c055a44dcbe2d056328a0fc041337512bf84da9b4e5043716b",
"rawRecordSha256": "9f2a9a4ac837e0091d160a22fe1b5dfa1c9aaba46e43054d109301b6ac18d8e1",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 237785
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 0,
"glosses": 0
}
}