different between keen vs trenchant
keen
English
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ki?n/
- (General American) enPR: k?n, IPA(key): /kin/
- Rhymes: -i?n
- Homophones: Keane, Keene
Etymology 1
From Middle English kene (“bold, brave, sharp”), from Old English c?ne (“keen, fierce, bold, brave, warlike, powerful; learned, clever, wise”), from Proto-Germanic *k?niz (“knowledgeable, skilful, experienced, clever, capable”), from Proto-Indo-European *?neh?- (“to know”). Cognate with Danish køn (“handsome, pretty”), Dutch kien (“smart, wise, able”), koen (“daring, valiant, doughty, courageous”), German kühn (“bold, daring, audacious, hardy, valiant, venturesome”), Icelandic kænn (“wise, crafty, clever, able”), Scots keen (“lively, brisk; avaricious”). Related to Old English cunnan (“to know how to, be able to”). More at cunning, can.
Alternative forms
- keene, kene (both obsolete)
Adjective
keen (comparative keener or more keen, superlative keenest or most keen)
- (chiefly Commonwealth of Nations) Often with a prepositional phrase, or with to and an infinitive: showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness; eager, enthusiastic, interested.
- 2000, Jane Green, Bookends, London: Penguin Books, ?ISBN; republished as Bookends: A Novel, trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, 2003, ?ISBN, page 304:
- In fact, she doesn't mention the fact that I've obviously been avoiding her, just sounds genuinely thrilled to hear from me, and as soon as I mention getting together she suggests Monday, which is rather keen, even for Portia.
- 2000, Jane Green, Bookends, London: Penguin Books, ?ISBN; republished as Bookends: A Novel, trade paperback edition, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, 2003, ?ISBN, page 304:
- Fierce, intense, vehement.
- Having a fine edge or point; sharp.
- Acute of mind, having or expressing mental acuteness; penetrating, sharp.
- Acrimonious, bitter, piercing.
- Of cold, wind, etc.: cutting, penetrating, piercing, sharp.
- 1764 December 19 (indicated as 1765), Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller, or a Prospect of Society. A Poem. Inscribed to the Rev. Henry Goldsmith, London: Printed for J[ohn] Newbery, ?OCLC; 3rd edition, London: Printed for J. Newbury,[sic, meaning Newbery] in St. Paul's Church-yard, 1765, ?OCLC, page 10:
- Chearful at morn he wakes from ?hort repo?e, / Brea?ts the keen air, and carolls as he goes; […]
- 1764 December 19 (indicated as 1765), Oliver Goldsmith, The Traveller, or a Prospect of Society. A Poem. Inscribed to the Rev. Henry Goldsmith, London: Printed for J[ohn] Newbery, ?OCLC; 3rd edition, London: Printed for J. Newbury,[sic, meaning Newbery] in St. Paul's Church-yard, 1765, ?OCLC, page 10:
- (Britain) Of prices, extremely low as to be competitive.
- (US, informal, dated) Marvelous.
- (obsolete) Brave, courageous; audacious, bold.
Usage notes
Keen is often used to create compounds, the meaning of most of them being fairly obvious, for example, keen-edged, keen-eyed, keen-sighted, keen-witted, etc.
Synonyms
- (showing a quick and ardent responsiveness or willingness): ardent, eager, prompt
- (having a fine edge or point): sharp
- (acrimonious): biting, cutting, piercing
- (acute of mind): acute, penetrating, shrewd; see also Thesaurus:intelligent
Derived terms
Translations
Verb
keen (third-person singular simple present keens, present participle keening, simple past and past participle keened)
- (transitive, rare) To make cold, to sharpen.
- 1730, James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, A Hymn, A Poem to the Memory of Sir Isaac Newton, and Britannia, a Poem, London, Printed for J. Millan, near Whitehall; and A[ndrew] Millar, in the Strand, ?OCLC; republished in The Works of James Thomson. With His Last Corrections and Improvements. In Four Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for A. Millar, in the Strand, 1766, ?OCLC, page 93, lines 1256–1259:
- This is the pure?t exerci?e of health, / The kind refre?her of the ?ummer-heats; / Nor, when cold Winter keens the brightening flood, / Would I weak-?hivering linger on the brink.
- 1730, James Thomson, “Summer”, in The Seasons, A Hymn, A Poem to the Memory of Sir Isaac Newton, and Britannia, a Poem, London, Printed for J. Millan, near Whitehall; and A[ndrew] Millar, in the Strand, ?OCLC; republished in The Works of James Thomson. With His Last Corrections and Improvements. In Four Volumes, volume I, London: Printed for A. Millar, in the Strand, 1766, ?OCLC, page 93, lines 1256–1259:
Etymology 2
From Irish caoin (“to cry, weep; to keen”).
Noun
keen (plural keens)
- A prolonged wail for a deceased person.
Verb
keen (third-person singular simple present keens, present participle keening, simple past and past participle keened)
- (intransitive) To utter a keen.
- 20th century, Stuart Howard-Jones (1904–1974), “Hibernia”, in Kingsley Amis, comp., The New Oxford Book of English Light Verse, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1978, ?ISBN, page 243:
- Last night he had put down too much Potheen / (A vulgar blend of Methyl and Benzene) / That, at some Wake, he might the better keen. / (Keen—meaning 'brisk'? Nay, here the Language warps: / 'Tis singing bawdy Ballads to a Corpse.)
- 20th century, Stuart Howard-Jones (1904–1974), “Hibernia”, in Kingsley Amis, comp., The New Oxford Book of English Light Verse, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1978, ?ISBN, page 243:
- (transitive) To utter with a loud wailing voice or wordless cry.
- (transitive) To mourn.
Related terms
- keener
References
Anagrams
- Enke, kene, knee, kène, neek
Basque
Noun
keen
- genitive plural of ke
Hunsrik
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /k?e?n/
Particle
keen
- no, not any, not a
Declension
1Form used when the plural of the noun is the same as the singular
Further reading
- Online Hunsrik Dictionary
Luxembourgish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ke?n/
- Rhymes: -e?n
Particle
keen m or n
- no, not any, not a
Declension
Somali
Verb
keen
- bring
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English kene, from Old English c?ne.
Adjective
keen
- sharp
References
- Jacob Poole (1867) , William Barnes, editor, A glossary, with some pieces of verse, of the old dialect of the English colony in the baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, J. Russell Smith, ?ISBN
keen From the web:
- what keen means
- what keen shoes are made in the usa
- what's keener mean
- keen interest meaning
- what keen eye
- what's keen bean
- what's keen-witted
- what keen mind
trenchant
English
Alternative forms
- trenchaunt (obsolete)
Etymology
Borrowed into Middle English from Old French trenchant, the present participle of trenchier (“to cut”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?t??n??nt/
Adjective
trenchant (comparative more trenchant, superlative most trenchant)
- (obsolete) Fitted to trench or cut; gutting; sharp.
- 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 1:
- The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty, / For want of fighting was grown rusty, / And ate into itself, for lack / Of somebody to hew and hack.
- 1663, Samuel Butler, Hudibras, part 1, canto 1:
- (figuratively) Keen; biting; vigorously articulate and effective; severe.
- 2011, Jay A. Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940
- His trenchant criticisms of the Church's repression […] include a discussion of the considerable 1938 success of the fledgling NODL in getting magazines removed from various points of sale.
- 2011, Jay A. Gertzman, Bookleggers and Smuthounds: The Trade in Erotica, 1920-1940
Translations
Middle French
Etymology
Old French trenchant.
Noun
trenchant m or f (plural trenchans)
- sharp
Descendants
- French: tranchant
Old French
Adjective
trenchant m (oblique and nominative feminine singular trenchant or trenchante)
- sharp; razor sharp
Declension
Verb
trenchant
- present participle of trenchier
trenchant From the web:
- trenchant meaning
- trenchant what does that mean
- trenchant what part of speech
- what does trenchant
- what is trenchant manner
- what do trenchant mean
- what does trenchant definition
- what does trenchant wit mean
you may also like
- keen vs trenchant
- warmhearted vs fierce
- stormy vs fiery
- atrocious vs nasty
- liquid vs refreshment
- pleasing vs melodious
- enjoin vs forbid
- celebrity vs name
- mince vs divide
- bright vs buoyant
- flinty vs callous
- allowed vs sanctioned
- victor vs subjugator
- tease vs ride
- bait vs motive
- selection vs quantity
- zealous vs rousing
- weightiness vs momentousness
- serene vs dull
- sheet vs bed