Etymology
1. O.E.
cnawan (class VII strong verb; past tense
cneow, pp.
cnawen), from P.Gmc.
*knoeanan (cf. O.H.G.
bi-chnaan, ir-chnaan "to know"), from PIE base
*gn- (cf. O.C.S.
znati, Rus.
znat "to know;" L.
gnoscere; Gk.
*gno-, as in
gignoskein; Skt.
jna- "know;" see can (v.)). Once widespread in Gmc., now retained only in Eng., where however it has widespread application, covering meanings that require two or more verbs in other languages (e.g. Ger.
wissen, kennen, erkennen and in part
können; Fr.
connaître, savior; L.
novisse, cognoscire, scire). Meaning "to have sexual intercourse with" is c.1200, from the O.T. To
not know one's ass from one's elbow is from 1930. To
know better "to have learned from experience" is from 1704.
You know as a parenthetical filler is from 1712, but it has roots in 14c. M.E.
Know-how "technical expertise" first recorded 1838 in Amer.Eng.
Know-nothing "ignoramus" is from 1827; as a U.S. nativist political party, active 1853-56, the name refers to the secret society at the core of the party, about which members were instructed to answer, if asked about it, that they "know nothing." The party merged into the Republican Party.
2. From Middle English knowen, from Old English cnāwan (“to know, perceive, recognise”), from Proto-West Germanic *knāan, from Proto-Germanic *knēaną (“to know”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”).
3. Cognates
4. * from Proto-Germanic: Scots knaw (“to know, recognise”), Icelandic knega (“to know, know how to, be able”), Old High German knājan (“to know, recognise”), Old Norse kná (“to know how”). Remotely related also Dutch and German kennen, West Frisian kenne (see English ken).
5. * from Indo-European: Latin gnoscō, Latin cognoscō (Spanish conocer, French connaître, Romanian cunoaște, Italian conoscere, Portuguese conhecer), Ancient Greek γνωρίζω (gnōrízō, “to know”) and γνῶσις (gnôsis, “knowledge”), Albanian njoh (“to know, recognise”), Russian знать (znatʹ, “to know”), Lithuanian žinoti (“to know”), Persian شناختن (šenâxtan, “to know”) and Hindi जानना (jānnā, “to know, understand”). See: Middle English '
knowen', Proto-Germanic '
*knēaną', Scots '
knaw', Icelandic '
knega', Old High German 'knājan', German, old spelling '
kennen', Latin '
gnoscō', Latin '
cognoscō', Spanish '
conocer', French '
connaître', Romanian '
cunoaște', Italian '
conoscere', Portuguese '
conhecer', Greek, Ancient '
γνωρίζω', Albanian '
njoh', Russian '
знать', Lithuanian '
žinoti', Hindi '
जानना'.
Verbs referencing "know"
Russian
знать, Pali
jānāti, Dari
دانستن, Sanskrit
जानाति, Hindi
जानना, Albanian
njoh, Icelandic
knega.