können

Forms

können (preterite-present, third-person singular present kann, past tense konnte, past participle gekonnt or (as an auxiliary verb) können, past subjunctive könnte, auxiliary haben)^[1] The past tense was kunde, kunte (shortened kunt) until the 17th century;^[2] Goethe and Heine still use kunt in rhyme.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle High German kunnen or künnen, inherited from Old High German kunnan, inherited from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan, inherited from Proto-Germanic *kunnaną (“to know, be able”).^[3][4][1] It is a preterite-present verb: the present *kann was originally a perfect, which is why the German present is shaped like the past tense of a strong verb such as beginnen.^[3][4][5] The same verb is Gothic 𐌺𐌿𐌽𐌽𐌰𐌽 (kunnan) (“to know”), Old Norse kunna, Old English cunnan, Old Frisian kunna and Old Saxon kunnan, and it survives in Dutch kunnen, English can and Swedish kunna.^[3][4][6] Besides “to know” it meant “to be able” in all of them.^[3]

It belongs to the root Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (“to know”), found in Ancient Greek γιγνώσκω (gignṓskō, “I recognise”), Latin nōscō (“to get to know”), Lithuanian žinóti (“to know”) and Russian знать (znatʹ, “to know”).^[3][4][6] The double ⟨nn⟩ and the full grade of the first syllable are unexpected: one explanation is a nasal present, which is awkward because the Germanic form continues a perfect;^[3][4] Seebold derives the ⟨nn⟩ from an assimilated /nə/.^[3][4]

The umlaut of the infinitive and the present plural first appears in Middle High German, as in the other modal verbs mögen, müssen and dürfen;^[1] Wiktionary interprets it as a marker of plurality like the umlaut of noun plurals.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old High German kunnan is recorded from the 8th century in glosses, then in the Carmen ad Deum, the Merseburg Charms, Otfrid and Notker.^[7][8] It meant “to know, be acquainted with, understand, master”, and also “to be able, have the possibility”.^[7][8] The original sense was mental: “to know, understand”.^[4][9]

Semantic evolution

Already in Middle High German the verb was used mainly of knowledge applied to an activity, a learned skill, and so moved towards “to be able”; it took over the function of Middle High German mügen.^[2][4] The old sense of knowing survives in auswendig können “to know by heart” and in eine Sprache können “to know a language”.^[2] The use with an infinitive (lesen können) became usual only gradually in Old High German.^[2] When it expresses that no one else's will stands in the way (das kannst du meinetwegen tun), it comes close to dürfen.^[2]

The old meaning lives on in the related words kennen (“to let know”), kühn (originally “knowing, wise”), kund (“known”) and Kunst (originally “knowledge”).^[9][4] The infinitive used as a noun, das Können “skill, ability”, is quoted by the Grimms from Logau, Lessing and Goethe.^[10] The agent noun Könner “expert” dates from the 17th century, its feminine Könnerin from the first half of the 20th.^[4][9]

Timeline

• 8th century – Old High German kunnan is recorded in glosses.^[7]
• Middle High German period – Used chiefly of learned skills; the umlauted künnen appears.^[2][1]
• 17th century – Könner is formed; the old past tense kunde gives way to konnte.^[4][2]
• First half of the 20th century – Könnerin appears.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. (modal, with an infinitive) To be able to do something: sie kann gut turnen.^[11][1]
2. (modal) To have the possibility of doing something because of circumstances or the nature of a thing: das Flugzeug kann 300 Passagiere aufnehmen.^[11]
3. (modal) To have good reason or the right to do something: du kannst ohne Sorge sein.^[11]
4. (modal) To be possibly the case: das kann sein.^[11][7]
5. (modal, informal) To be allowed to, may.^[11][1]
6. (transitive) To have learned, to master: er kann Russisch, das Gedicht auswendig können.^[11][1]
7. (colloquial) für etwas nichts können: not to be to blame for something.^[11][1]
8. (colloquial) To still have the strength: kannst du noch?.^[11]

Word family

• Könner
• Könnerin

Related words

• kennen
• kühn
• kund
• Kunst
• English can
• English know

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Paul, Hermann (2002), Deutsches Wörterbuch: Bedeutungsgeschichte und Aufbau unseres Wortschatzes, 10th ed., ed. Helmut Henne, Heidrun Kämper and Georg Objartel, Tübingen: Niemeyer
3. ^ a b c d e f g Kluge, Friedrich; Seebold, Elmar (2011), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 25th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 524
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pfeifer, Wolfgang, et al. (1993), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Deutschen, 2nd ed., Berlin: Akademie-Verlag; digital revised version in the DWDS, dwds.de
5. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 11, 1719
6. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d Lloyd, Albert L.; Springer, Otto; Lühr, Rosemarie, et al. (1988–), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht; online ewa.saw-leipzig.de, p. 5, 888
8. ^ a b Schützeichel, Rudolf (2012), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 7th ed., Berlin / Boston: De Gruyter, p. 186
9. ^ a b c d Duden. Das Herkunftswörterbuch: Etymologie der deutschen Sprache (2020), 6th ed., Duden vol. 7, Berlin: Dudenverlag
10. ^ Grimm, Jacob; Grimm, Wilhelm (1854–1961), Deutsches Wörterbuch, 16 vols. in 32, Leipzig: Hirzel; digital: Wörterbuchnetz, Trier Center for Digital Humanities, p. 11, 1741
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Duden. Das große Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache in zehn Bänden (1999), 3rd ed., Mannheim: Dudenverlag