View source for cunnan

{{also|Cunnan}}
==Old Dutch==

===Etymology===
{{root|odt|ine-pro|*ǵneh₃-}}
From {{inh|odt|gmw-pro|*kunnan}}, from {{inh|odt|gem-pro|*kunnaną}}.

===Verb===
{{odt-verb}}

# to [[know]], to be [[familiar]] with
# {{lb|odt|auxiliary}} [[can]], to [[be able to]]

====Inflection====
{{odt-conj-pp|cunn|pp_an=true}}

====Descendants====
* {{desctree|dum|connen}}

====Further reading====
* {{R:ONW|2805}}

==Old English==

===Etymology===
{{etymon|ang|id=know|inh|gmw-pro>*kunnan>know}}
{{root|ang|ine-pro|*ǵneh₃-}}
{{dercat|ang|gmw-pro|inh=1}}
From {{inh|ang|gem-pro|*kunnaną}}, from {{der|ang|ine-pro|*ǵneh₃-||to know}}.

===Pronunciation===
* {{ang-IPA|cunnan}}

===Verb===
{{ang-verb}}

# to [[know]], to be familiar with
#: {{usex|ang|Iċ wāt þæt hē hīe '''cann''', ac iċ nāt hwanon.|I know that he '''knows''' her, but I don't know from where.}}
#: {{usex|ang|Iċ nime þone hring, þēah iċ þone weġ ne '''cunne'''.|I will take the ring, though I do not '''know''' the way.}}
#: {{usex|ang|Nāwiht nis hefiġre þonne līċ. Atlas self ne '''cann''' þæt ġewiht.|Nothing is heavier than a dead body. Atlas himself '''knows''' not the weight.}}
#: {{usex|ang|Ne '''cūðe''' iċ hine wel, ac iċ '''cūðe''' hine oft.|I didn't '''know''' him well, but I '''knew''' him often.}}
#* [https://archive.org/details/analectaanglosax00thor/page/22/mode/2up Ælfric's Coloquy]
#*: {{quote|ang|Hwylcne cræft '''canst''' þū?|What craft do you '''know'''?}}
#* '''c. 1005''', [[w:Ælfric of Eynsham|Ælfric's]] ''[https://www.helsinkicorpus.arts.gla.ac.uk/hc_xml/lsigew.xml Letter to Sigeweard]''
#*: {{quote|ang|Hū mæġ sē mann wel faran þe his mōd āwent fram eallum þissum bōcum, and biþ him swā ānwille þæt him lēofre biþ þæt hē libbe ǣfre be his āgnum dihte āsċīred fram þissum, swelċe hē ne '''cunne''' Cristes ġesetnessa?|How can someone do well if they turn their mind from all these books [stuff that Ælfric wrote], if they're so stubborn that they would rather live their life always making their own separate judgments, as if they don't '''know''' the laws of Christ?}}
#* '''late 10th century''', [[w:Ælfric of Eynsham|Ælfric]], [https://archive.org/details/aelfricslivesof01aelf/page/530/mode/ "Saint Basilius, Bishop"]
#*: {{quote|ang|Bide nu æt gode þæt ic grecisc '''cunne'''.|Pray now to God that I '''may know''' Greek.'}}
# {{lb|ang|auxiliary}} [[can]], to know how
#: {{usex|ang|Iċ '''cann''' ēow lǣran.|I '''can''' teach you.}}
#: {{usex|ang|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.}}
#* '''c. 897''', {{w|Alfred the Great}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y3lMAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA4 translation] of [[w:Pope Gregory I|Pope Gregory's]] ''{{w|Pastoral Care}}''
#*: {{quote|ang|Hēr man mæġ ġīet ġesēon heora swaðu, ac wē him ne '''cunnon''' æfter spyrian.|Here you can still see their footprints, but we don't '''know how''' to follow them.}}
# to [[be]] [[able]]
#* '''late 10th century''', [[w:Ælfric of Eynsham|Ælfric]], [https://archive.org/details/aelfricslivesof01aelf/page/220/mode/2up?q= "Chair of Saint Peter"]
#*: {{quote|ang|...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.}}

====Usage notes====
Old English used several different words to mean “to know”:

* '''''[[witan|Witan]]''''' meant “to be aware of”, and was used with facts and pieces of information: ''Iċ <u>wāt</u> þæt iċ nāt nāwiht'' (“I <u>know</u> that I know nothing”), ''Hwā <u>wāt</u> hū fela ōðerra manna sind mē ġelīċe?'' (“Who <u>knows</u> how many other people are like me?”), ''Hwanon <u>wāst</u> þū mīnne naman?'' (“How do you <u>know</u> my name?”), ''Þū <u>wāst</u> hwæt tō dōnne is'' (“You <u>know</u> 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 <u>cann</u>?'' (“Can I love him more than I <u>know</u> him?”), ''Ne sorge ġē, iċ <u>cann</u> þis sċræf swā æftewearde mīne hand'' (“Don't worry, I <u>know</u> this cave like the back of my hand”), ''Ealdenglisċ <u>cunnan</u> þyncþ mē unnytt'' (“<u>Knowing</u> Old English seems useless to me”). With verbs, it means “to know how”: ''Þū āna <u>cūðest</u> mē hreddan'' (“You're the only person who <u>knew how to</u> save me”), ''Wisson ġit þæt hē singan <u>cann</u>?'' (“Did you know he <u>can</u> sing?”)
* '''''[[gecnawan|Ġecnāwan]]''''' and '''''[[oncnawan|oncnāwan]]''''' meant “to recognize, identify”, and could be used almost interchangeably with each other: ''Þā stefne iċ wolde āhwǣr <u>ġecnāwan</u>'' (“I'd <u>know</u> that voice anywhere”), ''<u>Ġecnǣwst</u> þū þisne wer?'' (“Do you <u>know</u> this man?”), ''Iċ <u>oncnāwe</u> gōd handweorc þonne iċ hit ġesēo'' (“I <u>know</u> good craftsmanship when I see it”), ''Be þon <u>oncnāwaþ</u> ealle menn þæt ġē sind mīne frīend'' (“That's how everyone <u>will know</u> you're my friends”). Though {{m|ang|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.
* '''''[[tocnawan|Tōcnāwan]]''''' meant “to distinguish, discern”: ''riht and wōh <u>tōcnāwan</u>'' (“to <u>know</u> right from wrong”).

In the sense of “can”, ''cunnan'' often specifically had the meaning of “to know how”. {{m|ang|motan|Motan}} was generally used for “can” in the sense of “to be allowed to”, while {{m|ang|magan|}} was used with the sense of “to be able to, to be capable of” (indicating that a particular thing was possible). However, this is only a generalisation; more generic, Modern English-style uses of ''cunnan'', where it appears to be used synonymously with {{m|ang|magan|}}, are attested.

====Conjugation====
{{ang-conj|cunnan<pp>}}

====Related terms====
* {{l|ang|cann}}

====Descendants====
* {{desctree|enm|cunnen}}