knack
Contents
English[edit]
Etymology[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.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
knack (plural knacks)
- A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something
- 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;
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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.
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 254a.
- A petty contrivance; a toy; a plaything; a knickknack.
- Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device.
Translations[edit]
A readiness in performance; aptness at doing something; skill; facility; dexterity
Something performed, or to be done, requiring aptness and dexterity; a trick; a device
Verb[edit]
knack (third-person singular simple present knacks, present participle knacking, simple past and past participle knacked)
- (obsolete, Britain, dialect) 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?)
Translations[edit]
to crack; to make a sharp, abrupt noise to chink
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to speak affectedly
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References[edit]
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle Low German
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- British English
- English dialectal terms
- Requests for quotation/Bishop Hall
- Requests for quotation/Halliwell