Cnawan

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. An Old English verb meaning to know, recognize, or become aware of something through perception or understanding
2. A archaic verb from Old English meaning to come to know, perceive, or recognize a thing or person
3. Old English verb for knowing or recognizing something, the ancestor of the modern English word know

Etymology: Old English "cnawan" was the ordinary verb for knowing something by experience, perception or recognition, and it is the ancestor of modern "know." Its Germanic relatives show the same sense, and the Old English form was a strong verb whose past tense was "cnēow" and whose past participle was "cnawen," the form that gave Middle English "knowen." The sound change that separates "cnawan" from "know" is the most striking part. Old English spelled the initial consonant cluster "cn," and the "c" was pronounced as a hard k sound, which is why the word began with a true k-n sequence. Over the Middle English period the initial k fell silent, while the spelling stayed behind, leaving the silent "k" that English speakers still write before "n" today. The vowel also shifted, so the Old English "a" in "cnawan" became the long "o" of modern "know." Forms of the verb the Old English "cnawan" is the source of, such as "knew" and "known," are inflections of this same verb, so they share its history.

Synonyms: know, ken

Antonyms: ignore