verb

ken

kehn

verb

To know or understand something (chiefly Scottish and Northern English dialect).

"Do you ken what he meant by that?"

"I dinnae ken where they went."

noun

The range or limit of someone's knowledge or understanding.

"Quantum physics is well beyond my ken."

"The details of the negotiation were outside her ken."

How to Use Ken

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo know something (Scots/Northern English usage), or, as a noun, the scope of someone's knowledge.

When to use it

The verb sense is chiefly Scottish/Northern English dialect; the noun phrase "beyond my ken" is standard English.

Common pairings

beyond my ken outside one's ken

Word Forms

kenned past tense, kenned past tense, kent past tense, kens plural, kens plural, kenim plural, ken plural, ken plural, Kens plural, kens singular, kens singular

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Do you _____ what he meant by that?

Etymology

From Middle English kennen, "to make known, understand", from Old English cennan, "to declare, give birth to, beget" — related to the modern word kin.

Rhymes for ken

taken woken token waken Aiken broken shaken spoken darken weaken Kraken silken

See all rhymes for ken →