Knowledge, perception, or sight.
"The ancient scroll mentioned that a single ken is precisely six shakus, which was essential for measuring the temple's dimensions during restoration."
A house, especially a den of thieves.
A Japanese unit of length equal to six shakus
In plain English: Ken is the amount of knowledge or understanding that someone has about a particular subject.
"The traditional Japanese tatami mat is roughly 1.82 ken in length."
Usage: Do not use "ken" to mean understanding or scope; that is a false friend from its Japanese origin where it refers to measurement. In everyday English, the word has no common usage as a noun for distance and should be avoided unless specifically discussing Japanese architecture.
To give birth, conceive, beget, be born; to develop (as a fetus); to nourish, sustain (as life).
"I don't have any knowledge of that obscure historical event because it is outside my ken."
To know, perceive or understand.
In plain English: To ken means to know or be aware of something.
"The teacher asked if the students could put within their ken how the new law would affect them."
Usage: Use "ken" as a verb only in the fixed phrase "beyond my ken" to mean something that is not understood or perceived. Do not use it alone in modern sentences like "I kened the answer," as this sounds archaic and unnatural.
A diminutive of the male given name Kenneth.
"Ken was surprised to see his old friend, Ken, at the reunion since they had both shortened their names from different versions of Kenneth."
The word "ken" comes from the Middle English verb kennen, which originally meant to give birth or nurture something rather than its current sense of knowing. This root traces back through Old English and Proto-West Germanic forms that described the act of conceiving or generating life.