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 also, "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 Old Frisian lernia, lerna (“to learn”), Middle Low German lernen (“to learn", also, "to teach”), Middle Dutch leernen (“to learn", also, "to teach”) (whence Dutch lernen (“to study scripture”)), German lernen (“to learn”). See also lore and lear.

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.

   It's time Dad learned (how) to change the oil in the car.

   In my latest job, I've learnt to keep my mouth shut more than in the last one.

   Toddlers learn to walk at around one year old.

   • 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.