- Know
- Know Know (n[=o]), v. t. [imp. {Knew} (n[=u]); p. p. {Known}
(n[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Knowing}.] [OE. knowen, knawen,
AS. cn["a]wan; akin to OHG. chn["a]an (in comp.), Icel.
kn["a] to be able, Russ. znate to know, L. gnoscere, noscere,
Gr. gighw`skein, Skr. jn[=a]; fr. the root of E. can, v. i.,
ken. [root]45. See {Ken}, {Can} to be able, and cf.
{Acquaint}, {Cognition}, {Gnome}, {Ignore}, {Noble}, {Note}.]
1. To perceive or apprehend clearly and certainly; to
understand; to have full information of; as, to know one's
duty.
[1913 Webster]
O, that a man might know The end of this day's business ere it come! --Shak. [1913 Webster]
There is a certainty in the proposition, and we know it. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be strong. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster]
2. To be convinced of the truth of; to be fully assured of; as, to know things from information. [1913 Webster]
3. To be acquainted with; to be no stranger to; to be more or less familiar with the person, character, etc., of; to possess experience of; as, to know an author; to know the rules of an organization. [1913 Webster]
He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. --2 Cor. v. 21. [1913 Webster]
Not to know me argues yourselves unknown. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
4. To recognize; to distinguish; to discern the character of; as, to know a person's face or figure. [1913 Webster]
Ye shall know them by their fruits. --Matt. vil. 16. [1913 Webster]
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him. --Luke xxiv. 31. [1913 Webster]
To know Faithful friend from flattering foe. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
At nearer view he thought he knew the dead. --Flatman. [1913 Webster]
5. To have sexual intercourse with. [1913 Webster]
And Adam knew Eve his wife. --Gen. iv. 1. [1913 Webster]
Note: Know is often followed by an objective and an infinitive (with or without to) or a participle, a dependent sentence, etc. [1913 Webster]
And I knew that thou hearest me always. --John xi. 42. [1913 Webster]
The monk he instantly knew to be the prior. --Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster]
In other hands I have known money do good. --Dickens. [1913 Webster]
{To know how}, to understand the manner, way, or means; to have requisite information, intelligence, or sagacity. How is sometimes omitted. `` If we fear to die, or know not to be patient.'' --Jer. Taylor. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
