Old English · verb
cunnan
- Part of speech
- verb
- IPA
- /ˈkun.nɑn/
- Syllables
- ˈkun · nɑn (2 syllables)
- Modern English
- cuncancannyconcould
Meaning
-
to know, to be familiar with
Iċ wāt þæt hē hīe cann, ac iċ nāt hwanon.
I know that he knows her, but I don't know from where.
-
can, to know how
Iċ cann ēow lǣran.
I can teach you.
-
to be able
...and hē lēop sona cunniġende his fēðes hwæðer hē cūðe gān.
and he leapt up immediately, trying his power of motion, whether he could walk.
late 10th century, Ælfric, "Chair of Saint Peter"
Conjugation
All forms (14)
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).
Descendants
can, canny, con, could, cun, cunning
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cunnan · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution