knack

See also: Knack and knäck

English[edit]

Use as "special skill" from 1580.^[1] Possibly from 14th century Middle English krak (“a sharp blow”), knakke, knakken, from Middle Low German, by onomatopoeia. Latter cognate to German knacken (“to crack”). See also crack.

knack (plural knacks)

A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something. [from 1580]
Synonyms: skill, facility, dexterity
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 254a.
  The sophist runs for cover to the darkness of what is not and attaches himself to it by some knack of his;
- 2011 October 2, Jonathan Jurejko, “Bolton 1–5 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:
  And the Premier League's all-time top-goalscoring midfielder proved he has not lost the knack of being in the right place at the right time with a trio of clinical finishes.
A petty contrivance; a toy.
Synonyms: plaything, knickknack, toy
Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity. [from mid 14th c.]
Synonyms: trick, device

A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity

A petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack

Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device

knack (third-person singular simple present knacks, present participle knacking, simple past and past participle knacked)

(obsolete, Britain, dialectal) To crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise; to chink.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Hall to this entry?)
To speak affectedly.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Halliwell to this entry?)

to crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink

to speak affectedly