kenspeckle
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of kenspeckle
1705–15; derivative ( see -le) of kenspeck (< Scandinavian; compare Norwegian kjennespak quick at recognizing, literally, know-clever); see ken
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Photograph: DC Thompson/Dandy/PA When the last great struggle for 's soul is at an end, Alex Salmond may yet have cause to thank the nation's kenspeckle comic publishers, DC Thomson.
From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2012
"We'll be terrible kenspeckle to the gentry we ken of."
From Salute to Adventurers by Buchan, John
The immediate front of a battle is a bit too public for anyone to lie hidden in by day, especially when two or three feet of snow make everything kenspeckle.
From Greenmantle by Buchan, John
When we reached Blackford Hall I found more than a kenspeckle countryside to remind me of homeland.
From Betty Grier by Waugh, Joseph Laing
I wonder what he will say…Your notion of the Aristocrat being kenspeckle, and the best men of a good lot being thus easily selected is new to me, and striking.
From Life and Letters of Charles Darwin — Volume 2 by Darwin, Francis, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
