cunnen

Middle English

Alternative forms

• can, canne, conne, connen, cun, cunne, kanne

Etymology

From Old English cunnan, from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną. Past forms with /d/ are due to the influence of the weak past ending.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkunən/

Verb

cunnen (third-person singular simple present can, present participle cunnynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative coude, past participle coud)

1. To know about (especially a domain of knowledge)
2. (auxiliary) To be able to; to have the capability (to do); can.
3. (auxiliary) To be able to do in the relevant situation; to be available to do.

Conjugation

Conjugation of cunnen (preterite-present)

infinitive	(to) cunnen, cunne
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	can	couthe, coude
2nd-person singular	canst	couthest, coust
3rd-person singular	can	couthe, coude
subjunctive singular	cunne, canne
imperative singular		—
plural1	cunnen, cunne, canne	couthen, couthe, couden, coude
imperative plural	cunneth, cunne, canne	—
participles	cunnynge, cunnende	cunned, coud

¹Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

• English: can, con, cun, could, cunning, canny
• Scots: can, cun, cunning
• Yola: canna, cou

References

• “cǒnnen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-03-12.