Forms: 1 céne, 2–6 kene, 3–4 ken, 4–7 keene, (5 Sc. keyne, 6 kein(e), 7– keen. [Com. Teut.: OE. céne = OS. *kōni (MDu. coene, Du. koen), MLG. kône, kœne, OHG. chôni, chuoni (MHG. küene, G. kühn), ON. kœnn:—OTeut. *kōnjo-. There are no cognates outside of Teutonic.
The original meaning is somewhat obscure. The prominent sense in OE. as in Low and High German, was that of ‘bold, brave,’ but ON. kœnn meant only ‘expert, skilful, clever,’ a sense also represented in OE. (ODa. kiön, kön, OSw. kön, kyn, ‘bold,’ are app. from LG., the original Scand. sense being found in ODa. lovkiön ‘learned in the law.’) It has been suggested that the ON. sense is the original one, the connecting link with the other being the idea of ‘skilled in war,’ ‘expert in battle’ (= ON. vígkœnn), but there is no clear evidence of this. The development of the specifically English sense ‘sharp’ is also obscure.]
† 1. Wise, learned, clever. Obs. (Cf. 7 b.)
a. 1000. Boeth. Metr., x. 51. Se wæs uðwita ælces þinges cene and cræftiʓ, þæm wæs Caton nama.
c. 1205. Lay., 4989. Þa alde quene, a wifmon wis and kene.
a. 1225. Leg. Kath., 2070. Beo nu ken & cnawes … hu heh & hu hali is þes cristenes godd.
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 1575. Þer comen mony Clerkes out of Caldye þat kennest wer knauen.
† 2. a. Brave, bold, valiant, daring. Obs.
c. 897. K. Ælfred, Gregory’s Past., xxxiii. 218. Betra bið se ʓeðyldeʓa wer ðonne se stronga & se kena.
c. 993. Battle of Maldon, 215. Nu mæʓ cunnian hwa cene sy.
c. 1200. Ormin, 19962. Godess bodeword … to kiþenn forþ Biforenn kafe & kene.
c. 1205. Lay., 520. He nom his kene men þa to compe weren gode.
a. 1300. K. Horn, 164. Whannes beo ȝe, faire gumes,… Of bodie swiþe kene.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Monk’s T., 259. Cenobia … So worthy was in Armes and so keene That no wight passed hire in hardynesse.
c. 1420. Anturs of Arth., xlvii. The knyȝte that was curtase cruail and kene.
1508. Dunbar, Gold. Targe, 137. Scho bad hir archearis kene Go me arrest.
a. 1605. Montgomerie, Misc. Poems, xiii. 29. Love maks a couard kene.
† b. As an alliterative epithet of kings or other rulers; hence, Mighty, powerful, strong. Obs.
a. 1000. Ps. l. (Cott. Vesp. D. vi.), 3. David wæs … cyninga cynost, Criste liofost.
a. 1225. Leg. Kath., 181. Aȝein se kene keisere & al his kineriche.
a. 1300. K. Horn, 507. ‘King,’ he sede, ‘so kene Grante me a bene.’
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 1593. ‘Kene kyng,’ quoth þe quene, ‘kayser of vrþe.’
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1467. To cache a castell þat was kene holdyn.
a. 1510. Douglas, K. Hart, I. xviii. Harde by this castell of this King so kene.
† c. Fierce, savage (chiefly of beasts); cruel; harsh (to a person). Obs.
a. 1000. Cædmon’s Exod., 322 (Gr.). Hæfdon him to seʓne … gyldene leon … deora cenost.
c. 1000. Sax. Leechd., I. 372. Se þe hafað hundes heortan mid him, ne beoð onʓean hine hundas cene.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 6715. If his lauerd kneu him kene o horn … Þis ox þan sal be taght to slan.
a. 1340. Hampole, Pr. Consc., 1228. Wild bestes … Als lyons, libardes and wolwes kene.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, ii. (Paulus), 647. Nero, þat tyran kene.
c. 1398. Chaucer, Fortune, 27. Whi seysthow thanne y am [to] the so kene Þat hast thy self owt of my gouernaunce.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, xxxviii. 11. The cruell serpent … The auld kene tegir, with his teith on char.
1622. Fletcher, Sea Voy., III. i. I’ll make ye … warry one another like keen bandoggs.
† d. Bold, proud, forward, insolent, heinous.
1297. R. Glouc. (Rolls), 6471. Me ne dar noȝt esse [= ask] weþer he were kene þo & prout.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 748. For þi kene carpyng cache now a shame.
c. 1450. St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 2404. Gude ensampill, men to mene Meke to be, noȝt proude na kene.
1508. Kennedie, Flyting w. Dunbar, 322. And knaw, kene skald, I hald of Alathya.
1567. Satir. Poems Reform., v. 42. For to defend the tratoure kene.
1594. Marlowe & Nashe, Dido, V. ii. Trait’ress too keend and cursed sorceress!
3. Of weapons, cutting instruments, and the like: Having a very sharp edge or point; able to cut or pierce with ease. Also of an edge or point: Extremely sharp. (Now somewhat rhetorical, exc. in keen edge, the ordinary being sharp.)
a. 1225. Juliana, 57. Irnene gadien kene to keoruen.
a. 1225. Leg. Kath., 1952. Þe hweoles beon þurhspitet mid kenre pikes þen eni cnif.
c. 1385. Chaucer, L. G. W., 2654, Hypermn. Out he caught a knyfe as A rasour kene.
a. 1541. Wyatt, Poems (1831), 172. He drew his bow with arrowes sharpe and kene.
1588. Shaks., L. L. L., I. i. 6. His sythes keene edge. Ibid. (c. 1600), Sonn., xix. Plucke the keene teeth from the fierce Tygers jawes.
1732. Berkeley, Alciphr., VI. § 8. The keen edge of a razor.
1752. Young, Brothers, IV. i. Like that poor wretch … Who, while in sleep … Draws his keen sword.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), III. 374. The keen edge will not be blunted.
fig. a. 1380. Virgin Antioch, 24, in Horstm., Altengl. Leg. (1878), 26. Stured on … Wiþ twey kene prikkes of couetise.
1603. Shaks., Meas. for M., II. i. 5. Let vs be keene, and rather cut a little Then fall, and bruise to death.
1713. Young, Last Day, I. 186. Thou … Hast felt the keenest edge of mortal pain.
1784. Cowper, Task, IV. 164. Set a keener edge On female industry.
1819. Shelley, Masque Anarchy, lxxiv. Words Keen to wound as sharpened swords.
4. transf. Of things, substances or agencies that affect the senses: a. Operating on the touch or taste like a sharp instrument; causing pain or smarting; acrid, pungent, stinging. (Now unusual.)
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVII. clv. (MS. Bodl.), lf. 229 b/2. Þouȝe al þe herbe in substaunce be kene and feruente.
1486. Bk. St. Albans, C vj a. Take hony … and a kene nettyll.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 43. For terre of hym selfe is to kene, and is a fretter, and no healer.
1618. Latham, 2nd Bk. Falconry (1633), 138. Take some of the keenest onions you can possibly get.
1659. in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm., App. V. 6. The keenest mustard.
1796. Morse, Amer. Geog., I. 192. Its fruit small, possessing, perhaps of all vegetables, the keenest acid.
1819. Shelley, Prometh. Unb., I. 43. The genii of the storm … afflicting with keen hail.
b. Of cold († or heat): Piercing, intense. Of wind, air, &c.: Very sharp, biting, piercing.
c. 1340. Richard Rolle of Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 3094. Þat fire is hatter and mare kene, Þan al þe fire that here es sene.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 908. But quicliche so kene a cold comes þer-after.
1567. Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.), 190. This wind sa keine.
1667. Milton, P. L., X. 1066. While the Winds Blow moist and keen.
1780. Cowper, Table-t., 294. Place me where Winter breathes his keenest air.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. iii. 27. The breeze at the summit was exceedingly keen.
c. Of sound, light, scent: Sharp, piercing, penetrating; shrill; vivid; clear; strong.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1206. Þe crie wax kene, crusshyng of wepyns.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 1604. Lordis & ladis … Kest vp a kene crie.
1602. Marston, Ant. & Mel., I. Wks. 1856, I. 16. Keen lightning shot Through the black bowels of the quaking ayre.
1819. Shelley, Prometh. Unb., II. iv. 27. Pain, whose unheeded and familiar speech Is howling, and keen shrieks. Ibid. (1822), Hellas, 344. One star … with keen beams, Like arrows through a fainting antelope.
1891. Daily News, 6 Nov., 2/6. The scent was so wonderfully keen that they raced two consecutive foxes down.
5. Of agencies that affect the mind: a. Of circumstances, thoughts, feelings, etc.: Causing acute pain or deep distress. Also, of pain, grief, etc.: Acute, intense, bitter.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 4724. Þe folk mon dei,… þis hunger es sa ken. Ibid., 21492. Þis dome þat was sa kene.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 616. It komses of a kene þouȝt þat ich haue in hert.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, II. 298. This cairfull cas so kene.
1647. Clarendon, Hist. Reb., I. § 191. It may be he retained too keen a memory of Those who had … Persecuted him.
1742. Gray, Dist. Prosp. Eton, viii. Keen Remorse with blood defil’d.
1865. Dickens, Mut. Fr., III. xiii. Mr. Tremlow … had betrayed the keenest mental terrors.
b. Of language: Sharp, severe, incisive, cutting.
a. 1400. Pistill of Susan, 199. Þe renkes reneyed þis comeliche accused with wordes wel kene.
1595. Shaks., John, III. i. 182. Good Father Cardinall, cry thou Amen To my keene curses.
1670. Evelyn, Diary, 28 Aug. Enjoyning me to make it a little keene, for that the Hollanders had very unhandsomely abus’d him.
1788. Gibbon, Decl. & F., l. V. 188. They pointed their keenest satire against a despicable race.
1855. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xviii. IV. 120. Keen speeches had been made,… but nothing had been done.
6. Of persons: Eager, ardent, fervid; full of, or manifesting, intense desire, interest, excitement, etc. Also, of desire, feeling, etc.: Intense.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 1011. Þan eiþer hent oþer hastely in armes, & wiþ kene kosses kuþþed hem to-gidere.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. XII. 252. Þough he crye to cryst þanne with kene wille.
1570. Levins, Manip., 69/35. Keene, feruidus.
1596. Shaks., 1 Hen. IV., IV. ii. 86. A dull fighter, and a keene Guest.
1715. Lond. Gaz., No. 5383/3. The Courage of the … Troops was never Keener.
1776. Adam Smith, W. N., I. i. (1869), I. 10. When he first begins the new work he is seldom very keen and hearty.
1827. D. Johnson, Ind. Field Sports, 51. Rajah Futty Narrain … was the keenest native sportsman I ever met with.
1862. Sir B. Brodie, Psychol. Inq., II. ii. 38. In this age of keen competition.
1865. Tylor, Early Hist. Man., i. 10. They were listened to by high and low with the keenest enjoyment.
1880. McCarthy, Own Times, III. xlv. 346. He had a keen interest in some branches of science.
b. Const. about, against, at, for, † of, or with inf.; also colloq. on (upon).
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 1892. Corageous & kene ȝoure clere gold to wyn.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 68. She wyl not holde to it, excepte she be kene of horsyng.
1711. Budgell, Spect., No. 116, ¶ 4. Sir Roger is so keen at this Sport.
1714. Swift, Pres. St. Aff., Wks. 1755, II. I. 208. Men were not so keen upon coming in themselves.
1768. Beattie, Minstr., I. lviii. Still keen to listen and to pry.
1855. Kingsley, Serm. Times, xiii. 217. Religious professors … are just as keen about money.
1874. S. Cox, Pilgr. Ps., iii. 67. Who is more keen for gain than the modern Jew?
1893. Stevenson, Catriona, ix. 97. He was keen to say good-bye to ye.
1897. Mary Kingsley, W. Africa, App. i. 653. They’ll let nature take its course if they don’t feel keen on a man surviving.
7. Of the eyes or eyesight: Sharp, penetrating. Hence, of hearing, smell, or other sense: Acute, highly sensitive. Also of persons or animals: Sharp of (sight, smell, etc.).
c. 1720. Gay, Songs & Ball., New Song New Similies. Her glance is as the razor keen.
1789. Wolcott (P. Pindar), Expost. Odes, i. Wks. 1812, II. 217. Hunting, like Blood-hounds, with the keenest noses.
1822. Hazlitt, Table-t., I. ii. 30. Looking through those he saw, till you turned away from the keen glance.
1841. G. P. R. James, Brigand, xxvi. I for one have keener perceptions when an enemy is near.
1866. G. Macdonald, Ann. Q. Neighb., xxvi. (1878), 448. She looked hard at me with her keen gray eyes.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), III. 28. Dogs keen of scent and swift of foot to pursue.
b. Of persons: Intellectually acute, sharp-witted, shrewd: often with mixture of sense 6. Also of the mind or mental operations: Endowed or conducted with great acuteness.
1704. J. Logan, in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem., IX. 324. He seems to me one of the keenest men living.
1794. R. J. Sulivan, View Nat., II. 75. When the keenest researches are … proceeding in the different parts of the European world.
1807. Crabbe, Par. Reg., III. 521. To this poor swain a keen attorney came.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., ii. I. 246. Nature had given him a keen understanding.
1880. L. Stephen, Pope, iv. 102. Her letters are characteristic of the keen woman of the world.
c. Of the face or looks: Suggestive of mental acuteness or sharpness.
1798. Wordsw., Peter Bell, I. xxiii. His face was keen as is the wind That cuts along the hawthorn-fence.
1894. Punch, CVI. 109. Her hair which so cunningly curled About her keen face.
ǁ B. adv. = KEENLY. Obs.
a. 1400. Chaucer, Merciles Beaute, 3. So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.
c. 1475. Rauf Coilȝear, 872. Thou art ane sarazine … that counteris sa kene.
1560. Rolland, Crt. Venus, I. 636. Outthrow the hart thay thirll me sa kene.
1667. Milton, P. L., IX. 588. Hunger and thirst … quick’nd at the scent Of that alluring fruit, urg’d me so keene.
C. Comb. a. Parasynthetic, etc., as keen-aired, -bladed, -eared, † -edge, -edged, -eyed, -faced, -fanged, -nosed, -scented, -sighted (hence keensightedness), -visioned, -witted, etc.
1730–46. Thomson, Autumn, 434. The winds Blown o’er the *keen-air’d mountain by the North.
1629. Massinger, Picture, II. i. Wks. (Rtldg.), 219/2. With his *keen-edge spear He cut and carbonaded them.
1591. Shaks., 1 Hen. VI., I. ii. 98. Here is my *keene-edg’d Sword.
1829. T. Hook, Bank to Barnes, 128. Unrivalled in … keen-edged satire.
1781. Cowper, Expost., 631. The *keen-eyed eagle.
1797. T. Park, Sonn., 72. Till *keen-nos’d Sancho ranging by, Stands,—and foretells a Partridge nigh.
1887. Bowen, Virg. Æneid, IV. 132. Hounds *keen-scented of race.
1813. L. Hunt, in Examiner, 2 May, 278/2. His strength, his *keensightedness, and his ferocity.
1836. J. H. Newman, in Lyra Apost. (1849), 121. *Keen-visioned seer, alone.
1855. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xvii. IV. 21. Sarcasms … dropped but too easily from the lips of the *keenwitted Dorset.
b. Adverbial, with active and passive pples., as keen-bent, -biting, -bitten, -cut, -judging, -piercing, -set; also with adj., as † keen-cold.
a. 1758. Dyer, Fleece, II. 158. Rough winds *Keen-biting on tempestuous hills.
1591. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. ii. 698. The … *keen-cold thicknes of that dampish Cloud.
1871. Palgrave, Lyr. Poems, 114. One *keen-cut group … Sophocles could show.
1819. Shelley, Cenci, IV. iv. 115. Your gentleness and patience are no shield For this *keen-judging world.
1863. Mrs. Gaskell, Sylvia’s L., iv. (1877), 34. I’m just *keen-set for my supper.
