learn

English Online Dictionary. What means learn‎? What does learn mean?

English

Alternative forms

• learne (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English lernen (“to learn", also, "to teach"”), from Old English leornian (“to learn", rarely, "to teach”), from Proto-West Germanic *liʀnōn, from Proto-Germanic *lizaną, from Proto-Indo-European *(le-)lóys-e, stative from the root *leys- (“track, furrow, trace, trail”).

Cognate with German lernen (“to learn”). See also lore.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: lûn, IPA^(key): /lɜːn/
• (General American) enPR: lûrn, IPA^(key): /lɝn/
• (dialectal) enPR: lä(r)n, IPA^(key): /lɑː(ɹ)n/ (see larn)
• (Early Modern) IPA^(key): /lɛːrn/, /lɛrn/

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)n

Verb

learn (third-person singular simple present learns, present participle learning, simple past and past participle learned or learnt)

1. To acquire, or attempt to acquire knowledge or an ability to do something.
   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Every day I learn more about this great city.
2. To attend a course or other educational activity.
3. To gain knowledge from a bad experience so as to improve.

4. To study.

5. To come to know; to become informed of; to find out.

6. (now only in non-standard speech and dialects) To teach.
   • 1993, The Simpsons, (18 Feb. 1993) Lisa's thoughts:

     That'll learn him to bust my tomater.

Usage notes

• The sense of "teach", once considered standard, fell into disfavour in the 18th century and is today deprecated in usage guides.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• study

Antonyms

• forget
• teach

Derived terms

Related terms

• lear

Translations

Noun

learn (plural learns)

1. The act of learning something.

Related terms

• lore

References

• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “learn”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “learn”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC..
• Family Word Finder, Readers Digest Association Inc. NY 1975

Anagrams

• Laren, Larne, laner, neral, renal

Bavarian

Alternative forms

• learna
• learnan (Timau)

Etymology

From Old High German lernēn, lirnēn, from Proto-West Germanic *liʀnēn. Compare German lernen, English learn, Dutch leren, Danish lære.

Verb

learn

1. (Sappada, Sauris) to learn

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Scots

Etymology

From Old English leornian.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lɛrn/

Verb

learn (third-person singular simple present learns, present participle learnin, simple past learnt, past participle learnt)

1. To learn.
2. To teach.