| Front | ken \KEN\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun 1. Perception; understanding; knowledge. 2. The range of vision. 3. View; sight. ["Ken" appeared on the English horizon in the 16th century as a term of measurement of the distance bounding the range of ordinary vision at sea — about 20 miles. British author John Lyly used that sense in 1580 when he wrote, "They are safely come within a ken of Dover." Other 16th-century writers used "ken" to mean "range of vision" ("Out of ken we were ere the Countesse came from the feast." — Thomas Nash) or "sight" ("'Tis double death to drown in ken of shore." — Shakespeare). Today, however, "ken" rarely suggests literal sight. Rather, "ken" nowadays almost always implies a range of comprehension, understanding, or knowledge.] |
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