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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

kenning.

Sight, view; specifically a distant view at sea.

7 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈkɛnɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. Sight, view; specifically a distant view at sea.

    obsolete
  2. The range or extent of vision, especially at sea; (by extension) a marine measure of approximately twenty miles.

    obsolete
  3. As little as one can discriminate or recognize; a small portion, a little.

    put in a kenning of salt
Where this word comes from

From Middle English kenning, kening (“instruction, teaching; experience, knowledge; sight, view”), from kennen (“to make known, point out, reveal; to direct, instruct, teach; to know, perceive”) + -ing. Kennen is derived from Old English cennan (“to make known, declare”), from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną (“to make known”), the causative form of *kunnaną (“to know, be familiar with, recognize; to be able to, know how”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”). Compare Danish kending (“acquaintance”), and see further at ken. By surface analysis, ken + -ing.

noun/ˈkɛnɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A chalaza or tread of an egg (a spiral band attaching the yolk of the egg to the eggshell); a cicatricula.

    obsolete · rare
Where this word comes from

From ken (“to beget, bring forth”), from Middle English kennen (“to beget, conceive (offspring); to give birth to”), from Old English cennan, gecennan (“to beget (offspring); to give birth to; to bring forth, produce”); see further at etymology 1.

noun/ˈkɛnɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A metaphorical compound or phrase, used especially in Germanic poetry (Old English or Old Norse) whereby a simple thing is described in an allusive way.

Where this word comes from

A learned borrowing from Old Norse kenning, from kenna (“to know; to perceive”), from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną (“to make known”); see further at etymology 1. Compare can, keen, ken.

noun/ˈkɛnɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. A dry measure equivalent to half a bushel; a container with that capacity.

    Northern-England
Where this word comes from

Origin unknown.

verb/ˈkɛnɪŋ/General-American, Received-Pronunciation
  1. present participle and gerund of ken.

    form-of · gerund · participle · present
Where this word comes from

From Middle English kenning, kening (“instruction, teaching; experience, knowledge; sight, view”), from kennen (“to make known, point out, reveal; to direct, instruct, teach; to know, perceive”) + -ing. Kennen is derived from Old English cennan (“to make known, declare”), from Proto-West Germanic *kannijan, from Proto-Germanic *kannijaną (“to make known”), the causative form of *kunnaną (“to know, be familiar with, recognize; to be able to, know how”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”). Compare Danish kending (“acquaintance”), and see further at ken. By surface analysis, ken + -ing.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.