Know \Know\, v. t. [imp. Knew; p. p. Known; 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. ?, Skr. jn?; fr. the root of
E. can, v. i., ken. (?). 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.
O, that a man might know The end of this day's
business ere it come! --Shak.
There is a certainty in the proposition, and we know
it. --Dryden.
Know how sublime a thing it is To suffer and be
strong. --Longfellow.
2. To be convinced of the truth of; to be fully assured of;
as, to know things from information.
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.
He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin.
--2 Cor. v.
21.
Not to know me argues yourselves unknown. --Milton.
4. To recognize; to distinguish; to discern the character of;
as, to know a person's face or figure.
Ye shall know them by their fruits. --Matt. vil.
16.
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him.
--Luke xxiv.
31.
To know Faithful friend from flattering foe. --Shak.
At nearer view he thought he knew the dead.
--Flatman.
5. To have sexual commerce with.
And Adam knew Eve his wife. --Gen. iv. 1.
Note: Know is often followed by an objective and an
infinitive (with or without to) or a participle, a
dependent sentence, etc.
And I knew that thou hearest me always. --John
xi. 42.
The monk he instantly knew to be the prior. --Sir
W. Scott.
In other hands I have known money do good.
--Dickens.
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.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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