Etymograph

English

can

Can comes from Old English cunnan ‘to know how’, from Proto-West Germanic *kunnan ‘to recognise’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-1‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥néh₃ti1‘to know’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnaną1‘to know’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kunnan1‘to recognise’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150cunnan1‘to know how’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500can1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1449can1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English can
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1449, Reginald Pecock: “prouyng which eny clerk can or woel or mai…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵneh₃-Wiktionary, English can‘to recognise’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵn̥néh₃tiWiktionary, English can‘to know’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kunnanąWiktionary, English can‘to know’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*kunnanWiktionary, English can‘to recognise’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150cunnanWiktionary, English can‘to know how’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500canWiktionary, English can
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1449canWiktionary, English can. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1449, Reginald Pecock: “prouyng which eny clerk can or woel or mai…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- ‘to recognise’

know, note, normal, notice, recognize, ignore, recognition, narrative, glory, noble, notion, keen, cognitive, norm, diagnostic, notorious, ignorant, notation, nobility, cognition, prognosis, narration, quaint, gnome, notoriety, notary, incognito, agnostic, connoisseur, kith, gnosis, recognizance, canny, cognizance, annotate, 88 more

through Proto-Germanic *kunnaną ‘to know, to be familiar with, to recognise’

keenly, uncouth, 5 more

through Old English cunnan ‘to know how’

could, con, ken, cunning, cun, 2 more

through Middle English can

khan, canna

Another origin of can

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gandʰ-uncertain
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*kannǭ‘can, tankard, mug, cup’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150canne‘glass, container, cup, jar’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500canne‘a tub, can or pot’
  5. Englishtodaycan

Today it means

verb To know how to.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “can”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- / can

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