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Origin and history of known

known(adj.)

mid-13c., knouen, "well-known, famous, notorious," past-participle adjective from know (v.). From early 14c. as "recognized, not secret; familiar, not strange." As a noun, "that which is known," by 1863; earlier "famous person" (1835). In Middle English it meant "one's acquaintances." To make (something) known is from mid-14c.

also from mid-13c.

Entries linking to known

know(v.)

Old English cnawan (class VII strong verb; past tense cneow, past participle cnawen), "perceive a thing to be identical with another," also "be able to distinguish" generally (tocnawan); "perceive or understand as a fact or truth" (opposed to believe); "know how (to do something)," from Proto-Germanic *knew- (source also of Old High German bi-chnaan, ir-chnaan "to know"), from PIE root *gno- "to know."

For pronunciation, see kn-. Once widespread in Germanic, the verb is now retained there only in English, where it has widespread application, covering meanings that require two or more verbs in other languages (such as German wissen, kennen, erkennen and in part können; French connaître "perceive, understand, recognize," savoir "have a knowledge of, know how;" Latin scire "to understand, perceive," cognoscere "get to know, recognize;" Old Church Slavonic znaja, vemi). The Anglo-Saxons also used two distinct words for this, the other being witan (see wit (v.)).

From c. 1200 as "to experience, live through." The meaning "to have sexual intercourse with," also found in other modern languages, is attested from c. 1200, from the Old Testament (Genesis iv.1). Attested from 1540s in colloquial phrases suggesting cunning or savvy (but often in the negative).

As far as (one) knows "to the best of (one's) knowledge" is late 14c. Expression God knows is from c. 1400. To know too much (to be allowed to live, escape, etc.) is from 1872. To know better "to have learned from experience" is from 1704.

As an expression of surprise, what do you know attested by 1914. Don't I know it in the opposite sense ("you need not tell me") is by 1841.

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    notorious
    1540s, "publicly known and spoken of," from Medieval Latin notorius "well-known, commonly known," from Latin notus "known...Middle English had notoire (mid-14c. in Anglo-French), from Old French, "well-known."...connotation, now predominant, "noted for some bad practice or quality, notable in a bad sense, widely but discreditably known...
    notify
    late 14c., notifien, "to make (something) known, to tell," from Old French notefiier "make known, inform, apprise" (13c.)..., from Latin notificare "to make known, notify," from Latin notus "known" (from PIE root *gno- "to know") + combining form...
    acquaint
    early 13c., "make oneself known" (reflexive, now obsolete); early 14c., "to gain for oneself personal knowledge of," from...Old French acointer "make known; make or seek acquaintance of," from Vulgar Latin *accognitare "to make known," from Latin...
    couth
    Middle English couth "known, well-known; usual, customary," from Old English cuðe "known," past participle of cunnan "to...
    Sistine
    The painting by Raphael known as the Sistine Madonna is so called because it also shows Sixtus II, a 3c. martyr and saint...; it is better known now for the two cherubs at the bottom of the picture who by 1900 were well-known in isolation from the...
    notable
    mid-14c., "worthy of note, important, praiseworthy," from Old French notable "well-known, notable, remarkable" (13c.), from...Meaning "well-known, prominent, worthy of respect" is from early 15c....
    declare
    mid-14c., declaren, "explain, interpret, make clear;" late 14c., "make known by words, state explicitly, proclaim, announce...Intransitive sense "make known one's thoughts or intentions" is by 1840. Related: Declared; declaring....
    anticipate
    1530s, "to cause to happen sooner," a back-formation from anticipation, or else from Latin anticipatus, past participle of anticipare "take (care of) ahead of time," literally "taking into possession beforehand," from anti, an old form of ante "before" (from PIE root *ant- "front
    think
    Old English þencan "imagine, conceive in the mind; consider, meditate, remember; intend, wish, desire" (past tense þohte, past participle geþoht), probably originally "cause to appear to oneself," from Proto-Germanic *thankjan (source also of Old Frisian thinka, Old Saxon thenkia
    revile
    c. 1300, revilen, "debase, degrade" (a sense now obsolete);" mid-14c., "insult, taunt, vilify, assail with abusive language," from Old French reviler "consider vile, despise, scorn," from re-, here perhaps an intensive prefix (see re-), + aviler "make vile or cheap, disesteem," f

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