ken

[ ken ]

Part of Speech noun, verb

Origin + Etymology

Mid 16th century; Germanic Old English cennan ‘tell, make known’, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German kennen ‘know, be acquainted with’, from an Indo-European root shared by can and know

Synonyms

awareness
knowledge

cognizance
comprehension
concept
grasp
idea
insight
sight
understanding

Antonyms

ignorance
unknown

blindness
misconception
misunderstanding
stupidity
unconsciousness

Definition

1. know

2. one's range of knowledge or sight

Examples

1. A) Do you ken Emily's mother? B) Do you ken anyone who can help me remodel my kitchen?

2. A) Margaret asked her supervisor for help because the task was beyond her ken. B) Paul helped Peter fix his kitchen sink because plumbing was within his ken.

Usage Over Time

#uncommon

Usage Over Time

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salient

[ sey-lee-uhnt ]

prominent or conspicuous

transpire

[ tran-spahyuhr ]

to occur, happen; take place

condign

[ kuhn-dahyn ]

well-deserved; fitting; adequate

scunner

[ skuhn-er ]

an irrational dislike; loathing

defenestrate

[ dee-fen-uh-streyt ]

to throw (a person or thing) out of a window

bandicoot

[ ban-di-koot ]

a mainly insectivorous marsupial native to Australia and New Guinea

epiphany

[ ih-pif-uh-nee ]

a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience

opine

[ oh-pahyn ]

to hold or express an opinion

arbitrary

[ ahr-bi-trer-ee ]

based on whim or personal preference, without reason or pattern; random