ken
Other forms: kens; kenned
The noun ken means "range of vision or comprehension." If quantum mechanics is beyond your ken, you don't understand it, or it is beyond your scope of knowledge.
Ken is rarely used today outside of the phrase, "beyond one's ken." It goes all the way back, however, to Proto Indo-European, the reconstructed ancestor of most European, Near Eastern, and South Asian languages. Coming from the root *gno- "to know," ken has many relatives in modern English such as incognito, cunning, and know itself.
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range of what one can know or understand
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the range of vision
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Vocabulary lists containing ken
Is your vocabulary feeling lax, with too many words beyond your ken? Dip into this vat of verbal gems of every hue and turn your woe into awe! These four lists are arranged from easiest to most challenging. Try and learn them all! Here are links to our lists in the collection: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Vocabulary from "Beowulf" (translated by by Gummere).