eldertongue

Old English · verb

cunnan

Part of speech
verb
IPA
/ˈkun.nɑn/
Syllables
ˈkun · nɑn (2 syllables)
Modern English
cuncancannyconcould

Meaning

  1. 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.

  2. can, to know how

    Iċ cann ēow lǣran.

    I can teach you.

  3. 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

Conjugation of cunnan
PresentPast
Indicative
1st singular canncūþe
2nd singular canstcūþest
3rd singular canncūþe
Plural cunnoncūþon
Subjunctive
Singular cunnecūþe
Plural cunnencūþen
Non-finite forms of cunnan
Form
Infinitive cunnan
Inflected infinitive cunnenne
Imperative singular cunne
Imperative plural cunnaþ
Present participle cunnende
Past participle cunnenġecunnen

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