cunnan

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną.

Verb

cunnan

1. to know, to be familiar with
2. (auxiliary) can, to be able to

Inflection

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Middle Dutch: connen
  • Dutch: kunnen, (dialectal) kennen, konnen
    • Afrikaans: kan (from inflected form kan)
    • Berbice Creole Dutch: kan (from inflected form kan)
    • Javindo: ken
    • Negerhollands: kan, ka (from inflected form kan)
    • Petjo: kan, ken
    • Skepi Creole Dutch: can (from inflected form kan)
  • Limburgish: kónne
  • West Flemish: keunn

Further reading

• “cunnan”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

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Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkun.nɑn/

Verb

cunnan

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.

   Iċ nime þone hring, þēah iċ þone weġ ne cunne.

   I will take the ring, though I do not know the way.

   Nāwiht nis hefiġre þonne dēad līchama. Atlas self ne cann þæt ġewiht.

   Nothing is heavier than a dead body. Atlas himself knows not the weight.

   Ne cūðe iċ hine wel, ac iċ cūðe hine oft.

   I didn't know him well, but I knew him often.

2. (auxiliary) can, to know how

   Iċ cann ēow lǣran.

   I can teach you.

   Þrēo manna cynn sind: þā þe tellan cunnon and þā þe ne cunnon.

   There are three kinds of people: those who know how to count and those who don't.

Usage notes

Old English used several different words to mean "to know":

• Witan meant "to be aware of," and was used with facts and pieces of information: Iċ wāt þæt iċ nāt nāwiht ("I know that I know nothing"), Hwā wāt hū fela ōðerra manna sind mē ġelīċe? ("Who knows how many other people are like me?"), Hwanon wāst þū mīnne naman? ("How do you know my name?"), Þū wāst hwæt tō dōnne is ("You know what to do").
• Cunnan meant "to be familiar with," and was used with people, places, concepts, and skills: Mæġ iċ hine lufian swīðor þonne iċ hine cann? ("Can I love him more than I know him?"), Ne sorge ġē, iċ cann þis sċræf swā æftewearde mīne hand ("Don't worry, I know this cave like the back of my hand"), Ealdenglisċ cunnan þyncþ mē unnytt ("Knowing Old English seems useless to me"). With verbs, it means "to know how": Þū āna cūðest mē hreddan ("You're the only person who knew how to save me"), Wisson ġit þæt hē singan cann? ("Did you know he can sing?")
• Ġecnāwan and oncnāwan meant to recognize or identify, and could be used almost interchangeably: Þā stefne iċ wolde āhwǣr ġecnāwan ("I'd know that voice anywhere"), Ġecnǣwst þū þisne wer? ("Do you know this man?"), Iċ oncnāwe gōd handweorc þonne iċ hit ġesēo ("I know good craftsmanship when I see it"), Be þon oncnāwaþ ealle menn þæt ġē sind mīne frīend ("That's how everyone will know you're my friends"). Though cnāwan is the ancestor of modern know and was probably a synonym, it was many times less common than these two prefixed forms in the Old English period, being attested only a few times in the surviving corpus.
• Tōcnāwan meant "to distinguish" or "discern": riht and wōh tōcnāwan ("to know right from wrong").

Conjugation

Conjugation of cunnan (preterite-present)

infinitive	cunnan	cunnenne
indicative mood	present tense	past tense
first person singular	cann	cūþe
second person singular	canst	cūþest
third person singular	cann	cūþe
plural	cunnon	cūþon
subjunctive	present tense	past tense
singular	cunne	cūþe
plural	cunnen	cūþen
imperative
singular	cunne
plural	cunnaþ
participle	present	past
	cunnende	(ġe)cunnen

Related terms

• cann

Descendants

• Middle English: cunnen, can, canne, conne, connen, cun, cunne, kanne
  • English: can, con, cun, could, cunning, canny
  • Scots: can, cun, cunning
  • Yola: canna, cou