See also: KNA, knä, and knæ

Old Norse

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *knēaną, whence also English know. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵneh₃- (to know).

Verb

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kná

  1. (defective) can, could
    • c. 9th century, inscription on the Rök runestone
      sakum| |mukmini uaim si burin| |niþʀ troki uilin is þat knuo knati| |iatun
      Sǫgum múgminni/ungmenni, hveim sé borinn niðr drengi. Vilinn er þat. Knúa/knýja knátti jǫtun.
      I say the folktale/to the young men, to whom is born a relative, to a valiant man. It is Vélinn. He could crush a giant.

Conjugation

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This verb is defective. Notably, the expected infinitive *knega is unattested.

Descendants

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  • Icelandic: knega

References

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  • kná in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.