ken

1. (international standards)ISO 639-3language code forKenyang.

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Kenyang terms

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/
• (pin–pen merger)IPA^(key):/kɪn/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛn
• Homophones:Ken;kin(pin–pen merger)

FromMiddle Englishkennen(“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget; to develop (as a fetus), hatch out (of eggs); to sustain, nourish, nurture”), fromOld Englishcennan(“to give birth, conceive, generate, beget”), fromProto-West Germanic*kannjan, fromProto-Germanic*kanjaną.

ken (third-person singular simple presentkens,present participlekenning,simple past and past participlekenned)

1. (obsolete) Togive birth,conceive,beget,be born; todevelop (as a fetus); tonourish,sustain (as life).
   • 1524,Desiderius Erasmus, translated byMargaret Roper,A Devout Treatise upon the Paternoster:

     To the soul this ghostly bread is the learning and the teaching and the understanding in the commandments of God, wherethrough the soul iskenned and lives.

Northern English dialects and Scots language fromMiddle Englishkennen, fromOld Englishcennan(“make known, declare, acknowledge”) originally “to make known”, causative ofcunnan(“to become acquainted with, to know”), fromProto-West Germanic*kannijan, fromProto-Germanic*kannijaną, causative of*kunnaną(“be able”), from which comes the verbcan.

Cognate withWest Frisiankenne(“to know; recognise”),Dutchkennen(“to know”),Germankennen(“to know, be acquainted with someone/something”),Norwegian Bokmålkjenne,Norwegian Nynorskkjenna,Old Norsekenna(“to know, perceive”),Swedishkänna(“to know, feel”),Danishkende(“to know”).See also:can,con.

The noun meaning “range of sight” is a nautical abbreviation of present participlekenning.

ken (third-person singular simple presentkens,present participlekenning,simple past and past participlekennedorkent)

1. (transitive, chieflyScotland) Toknow,perceive orunderstand.
   • 1902, John Buchan,The Outgoing of the Tide:

     It was noted by them thatkenned best that her cantrips were at their worst when the tides in the Sker Bay ebbed between the hours of twelve and one.

   • 1993,Mike Leigh,Naked (motion picture):

     Johnny: Is your name Maggie? / Maggie: How'd youken that? / Johnny: It's just a hunch. Are you looking for the, uh, petulant dwarf?

   • 1994 [1993],Irvine Welsh,Trainspotting, London: Minerva,→ISBN,page 6:

     Ah thought he wis being harsh, flippant and show-oafy, until ah got sae far in. Now ahken precisely what the cunt meant.

2. (obsolete, chieflyScotland) To discover bysight; tocatch sight of; todescry.
   • c.1602,William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London:[…]Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,[Act IV, scene v], line14:

     'Tis he. Iken the manner of his gate, / He riſes on the toe:

   • 1662, Thomas Salusbury,Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, Dialogue 2:

     I proposed to the Mariners, that it would be of great benefit in Navigation to make use of [the telescope] upon theround-top of a ship, to discover andkenne Vessels afar off.

   • 1712 (date written),[Joseph] Addison,Cato, a Tragedy. […], London:[…]J[acob] Tonson, […], published1713,→OCLC, Act I, scene v,page 1:

     Weken them from afar.

ken (uncountable)

1. Knowledge,perception, orsight.
   • 1642 (indicated as1641),John Milton, “That Church-governement is Prescrib’d in the Gospell, and that to Say Otherwise is Unsound”, inThe Reason of Church-governement Urg’d against Prelaty […], London:[…] E[dward] G[riffin] for Iohn Rothwell, […],→OCLC, 1st book,page 4:

     So far is it from thekenne of theſe wretched projectors of ours that beſcraull their Pamflets every day with new formes of government for our Church.

   • 1913, Louise Jopling,Poems:

     Within ourken / The Nightingale—ah! Love, the Nightingale! / Her tender sweetness made our cheeks grow pale,

   • 1957,United States Congressional serial set, number11976:

     These people, these 20 or 25, were in myken. Senator Jenner. In his what? Mr. Greenglass. Myken, my line of vision, my knowledge.

   • 1977, Roulhac Toledano, Sally Kittredge Evans,The Esplanade Ridge:

     On this occasion, I wrote to them: "Two more modest and deserving people than you are not in ourken; and it is but fitting that you receive this, preservation's most prestigious prize, for your selfless devotion to the cause through the years.

   • 1986,John le Carré,A Perfect Spy:

     Though he was out in the streets and away from the Firm and the Firm'sken, though he had work to do and action to relieve him, he was angry.

   • 1999, Catherine Z. Elgin,Considered Judgment:

     Since nothing in ourken differentiates knowledge from luck, something beyond our ken is introduced to do so. But the conviction that we know something is small comfort when coupled with the realization that we cannot tell what.

   • 2012, Keith McCarthy,Nor All Your Tears:

     I couldn't see the funny side myself, but Tristan could; after a while he could hardly control his merriment, in fact, so that he collapsed back on the bed, continuing to chortle, more of his rather unpleasant teeth making an unwelcome appearance in myken.

   • 2015, Brian Bates,The Real Middle Earth:

     It was an intelligence beyond humanken but integral to everything, perhaps most like the Great Tao of Eastern philosophy of the same period, and it flowed like a European form of Chinese chi.

2. (nautical)Range ofsight.
   • 1667,John Milton, “Book I”, inParadise Lost. […], London:[…] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […];[a]nd by Robert Boulter […];[a]nd Matthias Walker, […],→OCLC; republished asParadise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […],1873,→OCLC, lines59-60:

     At once as far as Angelskenn he views / The dismal Situation waste and wilde[…]

In common usage afossil word, found only in phrases such asbeyond one’s ken andswim into one’s ken.

• (nautical range of sight):offing

• Frank Graham, editor (1987), “KEN”, inThe New Geordie Dictionary, Rothbury, Northumberland: Butler Publishing,→ISBN.
• Northumberland Words, English Dialect Society, R. Oliver Heslop, 1893–4
• “Ken”, inPalgrave’s Word List: Durham & Tyneside Dialect Group‎^[1], archived fromthe original on2024-09-05, from F[rancis] M[ilnes] T[emple] Palgrave,A List of Words and Phrases in Everyday Use by the Natives of Hetton-le-Hole in the County of Durham […] (Publications of the English Dialect Society; 74), London: Published for theEnglish Dialect Society by Henry Frowde,Oxford University Press, 1896,→OCLC.
• Todd's Geordie Words and Phrases, George Todd, Newcastle, 1977[2]
• John A. Simpson andEdmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “ken”, inThe Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford:Clarendon Press,→ISBN.

Perhaps fromkennel.

ken (pluralkens)

1. (slang,UK,obsolete,thieves' cant) Ahouse, especially aden ofthieves.
   • 1611,Thomas Middleton, “The Roaring Girl”, in Arthur Henry Bullen, editor,The Works of Thomas Middleton‎^[3], volume 4, published1885, act 5, scene 1, pages128–129:

     Ben mort, shall you and I heave a bough, mill aken, or nip a bung, and then we'll couch a hogshead under the ruffmans, and there you shall wap with me, and I'll niggle with you.

   • 1828,Edward Bulwer-Lytton,Pelham: or The Adventures of a Gentleman‎^[4], page383:

     Ah, Bess, my covess, strike me blind if my sees don't tout your bingo muns in spite of the darkmans. Egad, you carry a bene blink aloft. Come to theken alone—no! my blowen; did not I tell you I should bring a pater cove, to chop up the whiners for Dawson?

   • 1851,Henry Mayhew,London Labour and the London Poor, volume 1, page351:

     Up she goes to any likelyken, where she knows there are women that are married or expect to get married, and commences begging.

FromHebrewקֵן(“nest”).

ken (pluralkenim)

1. (Judaism) Youth or children's group.
   • 2016 January 15, Dan Pine, “Hike, swim, fix the world: Kids mix it up at Gilboa camp”, inThe Jewish News of Northern California‎^[5]:

     Gilboa and Habonim Dror also run year-round programming, holding regional reunions (calledkenim) up and down the state

   • 2018 October 6, Meital Shapiro, “What It's Like to Be a Socialist Zionist in the U.S.”, inIsrael News‎^[6]:

     Gavriella: At an annual movement conference. I went for the first time, and we proposed creating newkenim [branches] and it was approved, which is amazing!

   • 2007, David Gur, דוד גור, Eli Netser,Brothers for Resistance and Rescue, page87:

     At the beginning of 1944 he was sent to Debreccen to operate the localken and to organize self-defense.

FromJapanese間.

ken (pluralkensorken)

1. AJapaneseunit oflength equal to sixshakus.

FromJapanese剣.

ken (pluralken)

1. Thetsurugi (type of sword).

• jan ken po
• ken oath

• nek

• IPA^(key):/ˈken/ [ˈkɛn]
• Hyphenation:ken

kén (predicativekéeni)

1. they,them

kén

1. their

• E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “ken”, inAn Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London,→ISBN
• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015)L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎^[7], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/

FromDutchkin, fromMiddle Dutchkinne, fromOld Dutchkinni, fromProto-Germanic*kinnuz, fromProto-Indo-European*ǵénus.

ken (pluralkenne)

1. chin

• kin

FromDutchkennen.

ken (presentken,present participlekennende,past participlegeken)

1. (transitive) Toknow (a person, a thing), beacquainted with

• te kenne

ken

1. genitiveplural ofka

FromProto-Brythonic*ken, fromProto-Celtic*kina(“on this side of”), fromProto-Indo-European*ḱe(“this, here”).

ken

1. exclamative adverb

   ken (bras) ―so (big)

2. equality adverb

   (n'eo ket)ken (bras ha me) ―(he/she is not) so (big as me)

3. negative adverb

   (n'ouzon ket)ken

   (I don't know)any more

FromMiddle High Germankemen,quemen, fromOld High Germankweman, fromProto-West Germanic*kweman, fromProto-Germanic*kwemaną. Cognate withGermankommen,Englishcome.

ken (strong)

1. (Tredici Comuni) tocome

• khemmen,khèmman

(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

ken

1. than

   Synonyms:dan,bèdar,kédar

• “ken” inMartalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974)Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo
• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013)Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

ken

1. skirt

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛn
• IPA^(key):/kɛn/

ken

1. inflection ofkennen:
   1. first-personsingularpresentindicative
   2. (in case ofinversion)second-personsingularpresentindicative
   3. imperative

• nek,enk

FromProto-Finnic*ken, fromProto-Uralic*ke. Cognate withTer Samikie,Erzyaки(ki),кие(kije),Udmurtкин(kin) andHungarianki.

• IPA^(key):/ˈken/,[ˈk̟e̞n]
• Rhymes:-en
• Syllabification^(key):ken
• Hyphenation^(key):ken

ken

1. (interrogative,dated)who;(when followed by a modifier in the elative case)whichone (of)
2. (indefinite,dated)whoever

• Ken is old-fashioned or poetic in tone (or dialectal), yet its inflected forms are common and standard. See the usage notes underkuka.

Seekuka.

• (who):kuka
• (whoever):kukatahansa

• “ken”, inKielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[8] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki:Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland),2004–, retrieved2023-07-02

Clipping ofkéni, theverlan form ofniquer.

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

ken

1. (vulgar,Verlan)Synonym ofniquer
   • 2017, “Je m’isole”, inDans l’arène, performed by Djadja & Dinaz:

     J’sais même plus laquelle j’aiken, j’sais qu’elle kiffe la dégaine

     I don't remember which one I screwed, I know she loves the way of looking.

   • 2023, Greta Gerwig,Barbie:

     Elle peut tout faire. Lui, c’est justeKen.

     She can do anything. He can just Ken/fuck.

Only used as infinitive or past participle.

Of unknown origin.^[1]

• IPA^(key):[ˈkɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes:-ɛn

ken

1. (transitive) tosmear

• ken inGéza Bárczi,László Országh,et al., editors,A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962.Fifth ed., 1992:→ISBN.

Borrowed fromJavaneseꦏꦺꦤ꧀(kén), fromOld Javaneseken(“particle before a noun (categorical or proper) denoting a person of some rank”).

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/
• Hyphenation:kèn

ken

1. honorific for male and female children

FromJapanese拳(けん, ken,“fist”).

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/
• Hyphenation:kèn

ken

1. fist

Unadapted borrowing fromJapanese縣(けん)(ken,“prefecture”). Romanised according modifiedKunrei-shiki romanization.

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/
• Hyphenation:kèn

ken

1. (historical, 1942-1945)Synonym ofkabupaten(“regency”)

• “ken” inKamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta:Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

FromProto-Finnic*ken. Cognates includeFinnishken andEstoniankes.

• (Ala-Laukaa)IPA^(key):/ˈken/,[ˈke̞n]
• (Soikkola)IPA^(key):/ˈken/,[ˈke̞n]
• Rhymes:-en
• Hyphenation:ken

ken

1. (interrogative)who?
   • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus,Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva:

     Ken se ono, arvaa!

     Who is it, guess!

2. (indefinite)whoever
   • 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov,Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 6:

     Ken arvajaa matkapoolenitsest - „oikiaa“, „kurraa“, „ettee“, „takkaa“, - se kiiree öksyy veerahas paikaas.

     Whoever determines the direction of a journeyfrom oneself - „to the right“, „to the left“, „forward“, „backward“, - that [person] will quickly get lost in an unfamiliar location.

3. (relative)who,that

• V. I. Junus (1936)Iƶoran Keelen Grammatikka‎^[9], Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page100
• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971)Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page152

ken

1. Rōmaji transcription ofけん
2. Rōmaji transcription ofケン

FromPortuguesequem.

ken

1. who

• kien

FromProto-Turkic*kẹ̄ŋ.

ken

1. wide

• N. A. Baskakov, S.M. Šapšala, editor (1973), “ken”, inKaraimsko-Russko-Polʹskij Slovarʹ [Karaim-Russian-Polish Dictionary], Moscow: Moskva,→ISBN

FromProto-Finnic*ken. Cognates includeFinnishken andVepsken.

• IPA^(key):/ˈken/
• Hyphenation:ken

ken

1. (interrogative)who?
2. (relative)whoever

• A. V. Punzhina (1994) “ken”, inСловарь карельского языка (тверские говоры) [Dictionary of the Karelian language (Tver dialects)],→ISBN
• P. Zaykov, L. Rugoyeva (1999) “ken”, inКарельско-Русский словарь (Северно-Карельские диалекты) [Karelian-Russian dictionary (North Karelian dialects)], Petrozavodsk,→ISBN

• kien(Salonika),quen,quien

Inherited fromOld Spanishquien(“who”), fromLatinquĕm, accusative ofqui. Cognate withSpanishquien.

ken (relative pronoun,Hebrew spellingקין,pluralkenes)^[1]

1. who;whom

   Dime konken andas, te direken sos.

   Tell mewhom you go with, [and] I’ll tell youwhom you are.

2. whoever;whomever(anyone who)
   • 1994, Tracy K. Harris,Death of a Language: The History of Judeo-Spanish‎^[10], University of Delaware Press,→ISBN,page93:

     Ken no tiene iža, no tiene amiga

     Whoever hasn’t a daughter, hasn’t a female friend [either].

FromProto-Finnic*ken, fromProto-Uralic*ke. Cognates includeKarelianken andIngrianken.

• IPA^(key):/ˈken/
• Hyphenation:ken

ken

1. who?

   Ken hyö ollah? ―Who are they?

• N. Gilojeva, S. Rudakova (2009)Karjalan kielen Livvin murdehen algukursu [Beginners' course of Karelian language's Livvi dialect]‎^[11] (in Livvi), Petrozavodsk,→ISBN, page10
• Tatjana Boiko (2019)Suuri Karjal-Venʹalaine Sanakniigu (livvin murreh) [The Big Karelian-Russian dictionary (Livvi dialect)], 2nd edition,→ISBN, page100

Fromkan. CompareMaranaokan.

• (Standard Maguindanaon)IPA^(key):/kən/[kɪɳ]
• Rhymes:-ən
• Syllabification:ken

kën

1. food

ken

1. Nonstandard spelling ofkēn.
2. Nonstandard spelling ofkěn.
3. Nonstandard spelling ofkèn.

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the criticaltonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Fromkan, compareMaranaokan.

ken

1. food

Fromkennen.

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/

ken (uncountable)

1. (Late Middle English,hapax legomenon)recognition

• English:ken
• Yola:ken,kin

• “ken,n.”, inMED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.:University of Michigan,2007.

ken

1. Alternative form ofkyn

ken

1. Questionparticle used in yes-or-no questions.

• Nora Deering, Helga H. Delisle (1976)Mohawk: A teaching grammar (preliminary version), Quebec: Manitou College, page10

• kön(Föhr-Amrum)
• koone(Mooring)

FromProto-Germanic*kunnaną.

ken

1. (Sylt)can,be able

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/
• Rhymes:-ɛn

ken m

1. laugh
2. smile

FromProto-West Germanic*kuni, fromProto-Germanic*kunją, fromProto-Indo-European*ǵenh₁-(“to give birth”). Cognates includeOld Englishcynn,Old Saxonkunni andOld Dutchcunni.

• IPA^(key):/ˈken/

ken n

1. kindred,kin

• North Frisian:kinne,kenne

• Bremmer, Rolf H. (2009)An Introduction to Old Frisian: History, Grammar, Reader, Glossary, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company,→ISBN

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/
• Rhymes:-kɛn
• Hyphenation:ken

Inherited fromProto-Malayo-Polynesian*kain(“woman's skirt”).

ken

1. garment worn around the lower part of the body

• kain

• > Javanese:ꦏꦺꦤ꧀(kèn)(inherited)

ken

1. particle before a noun (categorical or proper) denoting a person of some rank

• > Javanese:ꦏꦺꦤ꧀(kèn)(inherited)

• "ken" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson,Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

• kende(synonym)

FromPortuguesequem andSpanishquien andKabuverdianuken.

ken

1. who

• kee

FromMiddle High Germannechein, fromOld High Germannihein. CompareGermankein,Dutchgeen.

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/

ken

1. no;not a(n); not one; not any

FromMiddle Englishkennen, fromOld Englishcennan(“make known, declare, acknowledge”), originally "make to know", causative ofcunnan(“to become acquainted with, to know”); fromProto-West Germanic*kannijan, fromProto-Germanic*kannijaną.

ken (uncountable)

1. knowledge orperception

ken (third-person singular simple presentkens,present participlekennin,simple pastkent,past participlekent)

1. (transitive) Toknow,perceive orunderstand.

   Do yekenJohn Peel with his coat so gay? - 19th centuryCumbrian ballad

   Dae yeken Kenkens Ken?

   Do youknow Kenknows Ken?"

ken

1. no

Inherited fromEnglishcan, fromMiddle Englishcan, fromOld Englishcann, fromProto-West Germanic*kann.

• IPA^(key):/ˈken/

ken

1. (auxiliary) tobe able to
2. (auxiliary) tomay, to beallowed
   • 1989,Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea,Jenesis1:29:

     Na God i tok olsem, “Mi givim yupela ol kain kain diwai na gras i karim pikinini bilong kaikai. Na yupela iken kisim kaikai long ol dispela samting.

     →New International Version translation

3. (auxiliary)Expresses a wish.;may...

• John W. M. Verhaar (1995) chapter 10, inToward a reference grammar of Tok Pisin: An experiment in corpus linguistics, Honolulu: University of Hawai'i press,→ISBN, page144

FromProto-Finnic*ken.

ken (genitivekenen,partitivekeda)

1. who(interrogative)

• ken-ni
• ken-se
• koje-ken
• niken

• Zajceva, N. G., Mullonen, M. I. (2007) “кто”, inUz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[12], Petrozavodsk: Periodika

• (Hà Nội)IPA^(key):[kɛn˧˧]
• (Huế)IPA^(key):[kɛŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon)IPA^(key):[kɛŋ˧˧]

ken

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out andadd a translation, then remove the text{{rfdef}}.

ken

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out andadd a translation, then remove the text{{rfdef}}.

• kin

FromMiddle Englishken.

• IPA^(key):/kɛn/,/kɪn/

ken

1. ken
2. regard,liking
   • 1867, “ABOUT AN OLD SOW GOING TO BE KILLED”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page106:

     Ich aam a vat hog it's drue. Aar isken apan aam.

     I am a fat hog, 'tis true. There isken upon them.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published1867,page49

• IPA^(key):/ken˧/

ken

1. wheel

• Lukram Himmat Singh (2013)A Descriptive Grammar of Zou, Canchipur: Manipur University, page41