*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of ken

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”), f

7 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 7 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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-West Germanic *kannjan, from Proto-Germanic *kanjaną.

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.

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      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*ǵneh₃-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "kennen",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to give birth, conceive, generate, beget; to develop (as a fetus), hatch out (of eggs); to sustain, nourish, nurture"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kennen (“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget; to develop (as a fetus), hatch out (of eggs); to sustain, nourish, nurture”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "cennan",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to give birth, conceive, generate, beget"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English cennan (“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*kannjan"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *kannjan"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*kanjaną"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *kanjaną"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
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      "kennen",
      "kennen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cennan",
      "cennan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*kannjan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kannjan"
    ],
    [
      "*kanjaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kanjaną"
    ]
  ],
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        "To give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life)."
      ],
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        "obsolete"
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To know, perceive or understand. · To discover by sight; to catch sight of; to descry.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Northern English dialects and Scots language 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-West Germanic *kannijan, 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 (“to know, perceive”), Swedish känna (“to know, feel”), Danish kende (“to know”). See also: can, con.

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.

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    },
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        "3": "kennen"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English kennen"
    },
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        "4": "",
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      },
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    },
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    },
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "1": "fy",
        "2": "kenne",
        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "kennen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to know"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch kennen (“to know”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "kennen",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to know, be acquainted with someone/something"
      },
      "expansion": "German kennen (“to know, be acquainted with someone/something”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nb",
        "2": "kjenne"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Bokmål kjenne"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nn",
        "2": "kjenna"
      },
      "expansion": "Norwegian Nynorsk kjenna"
    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "kenna",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to know, perceive"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "känna",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to know, feel"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish känna (“to know, feel”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "kende",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to know"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish kende (“to know”)"
    }
  ],
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    [
      "kennen",
      "kennen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "cennan",
      "cennan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "cunnan",
      "cunnan#Old_English"
    ],
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      "*kannijan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/kannijan"
    ],
    [
      "*kannijaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kannijaną"
    ],
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      "*kunnaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/kunnaną"
    ],
    [
      "can",
      "can#English"
    ],
    [
      "kenne",
      "kenne#West_Frisian"
    ],
    [
      "kennen",
      "kennen#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "kennen",
      "kennen#German"
    ],
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      "kjenne",
      "kjenne#Norwegian_Bokmål"
    ],
    [
      "kjenna",
      "kjenna#Norwegian_Nynorsk"
    ],
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      "kenna",
      "kenna#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "känna",
      "känna#Swedish"
    ],
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      "kende",
      "kende#Danish"
    ],
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      "can",
      "can#English"
    ],
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      "con",
      "con#English"
    ]
  ],
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        "To know, perceive or understand.",
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        "Scotland",
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Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Range of perception. · Knowledge, perception, or sight. · Range of sight.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From a nautical abbreviation of Middle English kenning, present participle of the verb kennen (“to make known, point out, reveal; to direct, instruct, teach; to know, perceive”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 4

Original entry ↗
noun

A house, especially a den of thieves.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Of unknown origin. Perhaps from kennel.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    [
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Source etymology 5

Original entry ↗
noun

Youth or children's group.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Hebrew קֵן (qēn, “nest”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionקֵןhe · nest
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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        "1": "en",
        "2": "he",
        "3": "קֵן",
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      },
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    }
  ],
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    [
      "קֵן",
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    ]
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Source etymology 6

Original entry ↗
noun

A Japanese unit of length equal to six shakus.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Japanese 間.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Source etymology 7

Original entry ↗
noun

The tsurugi (type of sword).

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Japanese 剣.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for ken →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-a2Vu