kenning

[ ken-ing ]

See synonyms for kenning on Thesaurus.com

noun

a conventional poetic phrase used for or in addition to the usual name of a person or thing, especially in Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon verse, as “a wave traveler” for “a boat.”

Origin of kenning

First recorded in 1880–85; from Old Norse: literally “teaching, doctrine, poetic periphrasis”; see origin at ken, -ing¹

Words Nearby kenning

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kenning in a sentence

He was the first to recognize the significance of kenning, metaphor, and compound.
The Translations of Beowulf | Chauncey Brewster Tinker
Thorkelin knew nothing of the peculiar style of Old English poetry; he could recognize neither kenning, metaphor, nor compound.
The Translations of Beowulf | Chauncey Brewster Tinker
The mariners of Dartmouth accompt this to be about a kenning from Plimmouth.
Chronicles (1 of 6): The Description of Britaine | Raphaell Holinshed
To think of me telling ye about the leddy, and you kenning a the time wha the bairn was.
Merkland | Mrs. Oliphant
There's things it's best to put off kenning as long as we can.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources | James Wood

British Dictionary definitions for kenning

kenning

/ (ˈkɛnɪŋ) /

noun

a conventional metaphoric name for something, esp in Old Norse and Old English poetry, such as Old English bānhūs (bone house) for "body"

Origin of kenning

C14: from Old Norse, from kenna; see ken

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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