▪ I. keen, n.
(kiːn)
[a. Ir. caoine (ˈkiːnə), f. caoinim (OIr. cáinim, cóinim) I weep, wail, lament; cf. keen v.2]
An Irish funeral song accompanied with wailing in lamentation for the dead.
| 1830 Crofton Croker in Fraser's Mag. I. 191 The following Keens..I have translated from the Irish. 1841 S. C. Hall Ireland I. 226 The keener having finished a stanza of the keen, sets up the wail. 1895 Q. Rev. Oct. 319 His mother was famed..for her skill in giving the keen. |
▪ II. keen, a. (adv.) (
kiːn)
Forms: 1
céne, 2–6
kene, 3–4
ken, 4–7
keene, (5
Sc. keyne, 6
kein(e), 7–
keen.
[Com. Teut.: OE. céne = OS. *kōni (MDu. coene, Du. koen), MLG. kône, kœne, OHG. chôni, chuoni (MHG. küene, G. kühn), ON. kœnn:—OTeut. *kōnjo-. There are no cognates outside of Teutonic. The original meaning is somewhat obscure. The prominent sense in
OE., as in Low and High German, was that of ‘bold, brave,’ but
ON. kœnn meant only ‘expert, skilful, clever’, a sense also represented in
OE. (ODa.
kiön,
kön, OSw.
kön,
kyn, ‘bold’, are
app. from
LG., the original
Scand. sense being found in ODa.
lovkiön ‘learned in the law’.) It has been suggested that the
ON. sense is the original one, the connecting link with the other being the idea of ‘skilled in war’, ‘expert in battle’ (
= ON. v{iacu}gkœnn), but there is no clear evidence of this. The development of the specifically English sense ‘sharp’ is also obscure.]
A. adj. † 1. Wise, learned, clever.
Obs. (
Cf. 7 b.)
| a 1000 Boeth. Metr. x. 51 Se wæs uðwita ælces þinges cene and cræftiᵹ, þæm wæs Caton nama. c 1205 Lay. 4989 Þa alde quene, a wifmon wis and kene. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2070 Beo nu ken & cnawes..hu heh & hu hali is þes cristenes godd. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1575 Þer comen mony Clerkes out of Caldye þat kennest wer knauen. |
† 2. a. Brave, bold, valiant, daring.
Obs.| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. xxxiii. 218 Betra bið se ᵹeðyldeᵹa wer ðonne se stronga & se kena. c 993 Battle of Maldon 215 Nu mæᵹ cunnian hwa cene sy. c 1200 Ormin 19962 Godess bodeword..to kiþenn forþ Biforenn kafe & kene. c 1205 Lay. 520 He nom his kene men þa to compe weren gode. a 1300 K. Horn 164 Whannes beo ȝe, faire gumes,..Of bodie swiþe kene. c 1386 Chaucer Monk's T. 259 Cenobia..So worthy was in Armes and so keene That no wight passed hire in hardynesse. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xlvii, The knyȝte that was curtase cruail and kene. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 137 Scho bad hir archearis kene Go me arrest. a 1605 Montgomerie Misc. Poems xiii. 29 Love maks a couard kene. |
† b. As an alliterative epithet of kings or other rulers; hence, Mighty, powerful, strong.
Obs.| a 1000 Ps. l. (Cott. Vesp. D. vi.) 3 David wæs..cyninga cynost, Criste liofost. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 181 Aȝein se kene keisere & al his kineriche. a 1300 K. Horn 507 ‘King,’ he sede, ‘so kene Grante me a bene’. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1593 ‘Kene kyng,’ quoth þe quene, ‘kayser of vrþe’. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1467 To cache a castell þat was kene holdyn. a 1510 Douglas K. Hart i. xviii, Harde by this castell of this King so kene. |
† c. Fierce, savage (chiefly of beasts); cruel; harsh (
to a person).
Obs.| a 1000 Cædmon's Exod. 322 (Gr.) Hæfdon him to seᵹne..gyldene leon..deora cenost. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 372 Se þe hafað hundes heortan mid him, ne beoð onᵹean hine hundas cene. a 1300 Cursor M. 6715 If his lauerd kneu him kene o horn..Þis ox þan sal be taght to slan. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1228 Wild bestes..Als lyons, libardes and wolwes kene. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paulus) 647 Nero, þat tyran kene. c 1398 Chaucer Fortune 27 Whi seysthow thanne y am [to] the so kene Þat hast thy self owt of my gouernaunce. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxxviii. 11 The cruell serpent..The auld kene tegir, with his teith on char. 1622 Fletcher Sea Voy. iii. i, I'll make ye..warry one another like keen bandoggs. |
† d. Bold, proud, forward, insolent, heinous.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6471 Me ne dar noȝt esse [= ask] weþer he were kene þo & prout. a 1400–50 Alexander 748 For þi kene carpyng cache now a shame. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2404 Gude ensampill, men to mene Meke to be, noȝt proude na kene. 1508 Kennedie Flyting w. Dunbar 322 And knaw, kene skald, I hald of Alathya. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. v. 42 For to defend the tratoure kene. 1594 Marlow & Nashe Dido v. ii, Trait'ress too keend and cursed sorceress! |
3. a. Of weapons, cutting instruments, and the like: Having a very sharp edge or point; able to cut or pierce with ease. Also of an edge or point: Extremely sharp. (Now somewhat rhetorical,
exc. in
keen edge, the ordinary word being
sharp.)
| a 1225 Juliana 57 Irnene gadien kene to keoruen. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1952 Þe hweoles beon þurhspitet mid kenre pikes þen eni cnif. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2654 Hypermn., Out he caught a knyfe as A rasour kene. a 1541 Wyatt Poems (1831) 172 He drew his bow with arrowes sharpe and kene. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 6 His sythes keene edge. c 1600 ― Sonn. xix, Plucke the keene teeth from the fierce Tygers jawes. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. vi. §8 The keen edge of a razor. 1752 Young Brothers iv. i, Like that poor wretch..Who, while in sleep..Draws his keen sword. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 374 The keen edge will not be blunted. |
| fig. a 1380 Virgin Antioch 24 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 26 Stured on..Wiþ twey kene prikkes of couetise. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 5 Let vs be keene, and rather cut a little Then fall, and bruise to death. 1713 Young Last Day i. 186 Thou..Hast felt the keenest edge of mortal pain. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 164 Set a keener edge On female industry. 1819 Shelley Masque Anarchy lxxiv, Words Keen to wound as sharpened swords. |
b. Of prices: competitive.
Cf. quot. 1862, sense 6 below, and
keenly adv. 6.
| 1964 A. Fiber Independent Retailer v. 55 (heading) Mail order has grown rapidly in recent years... As warehouses and offices are situated in low-rent areas and there is no need of a sales staff, overheads are low. Prices, therefore, are often very keen. 1975 Evening Herald (Dublin) 8 May 13/3 (Advt.), Dennis Rent a Car. Keenest rates. New Street, Dublin 8. |
4. transf. Of things, substances, or agencies that affect the senses:
a. Operating on the touch or taste like a sharp instrument; causing pain or smarting; acrid, pungent, stinging. (Now unusual.)
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. clv. (MS. Bodl.) lf. 229 b/2 Þouȝe al þe herbe in substaunce be kene and feruente. 1486 Bk. St. Alban's C vj a, Take hony..and a kene nettyll. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §43 For terre of hym selfe is to kene, and is a fretter, and no healer. 1618 Latham 2nd Bk. Falconry (1633) 138 Take some of the keenest onions you can possibly get. 1658 in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 6 The keenest mustard. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 192 Its fruit small, possessing, perhaps of all vegetables, the keenest acid. 1819 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 43 The genii of the storm..afflict me with keen hail. |
b. Of cold (
† or heat): Piercing, intense. Of wind, air, etc.: Very sharp, biting, piercing.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3094 Þat fire is hatter and mare kene, Þan al þe fire that here es sene. c 1350 Will. Palerne 908 But quicliche so kene a cold comes þer-after. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 190 This wind sa keine. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 1066 While the Winds Blow moist and keen. 1780 Cowper Table-t. 294 Place me where Winter breathes his keenest air. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. iii. 27 The breeze at the summit was exceedingly keen. |
c. Of sound, light, scent: Sharp, piercing, penetrating; shrill; vivid; clear; strong.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 1206 Þe crie wax kene, crusshyng of wepyns. a 1400–50 Alexander 1604 Lordis & ladis..Kest vp a kene crie. 1602 Marston Ant. & Mel. i. Wks. 1856 I. 16 Keen lightning shot Through the black bowels of the quaking ayre. 1819 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. iv. 27 Pain, whose unheeded and familiar speech Is howling, and keen shrieks. 1822 ― Hellas 344 One star..with keen beams, Like arrows through a fainting antelope. 1891 Daily News 6 Nov. 2/6 The scent was so wonderfully keen that they raced two consecutive foxes down. |
d. Jolly good, very nice, splendid.
colloq. (
orig. U.S.).
| 1914 ‘High Jinks, Jr.’ Choice Slang 14 Keen, excellent... ‘A keen day.’ ‘A keen time.’ 1925 College Humor Aug. 76/1 Keen, fine, attractive, splendid. 1940 New Yorker 16 Nov. 19/3 ‘My mother's going to buy me four new dresses.’ ..‘That's keen.’ 1948 Hearst's International Dec. 162/3 ‘What are you studying at school?’ ‘Journalism.’ ‘That sounds keen,’ said Sally. 1964 Punch 8 July 38/1 It's fab, Henchcliffe, it's gear, moody, groovy, keen and withitly gogo. 1968 N. Fleming Counter Paradise vi. 87 He slowed to a standstill beside the second flag. ‘Keen,’ he said. |
5. Of agencies that affect the mind:
a. Of circumstances, thoughts, feelings, etc.: Causing acute pain or deep distress. Also, of pain, grief, etc.: Acute, intense, bitter.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4724 Þe folk mon dei,..þis hunger es sa ken. Ibid. 21492 Þis dome þat was sa kene. c 1350 Will. Palerne 616 It komses of a kene þouȝt þat ich haue in hert. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 298 This cairfull cas so kene. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. i. §191 It may be he retained too keen a memory of Those who had..Persecuted him. 1742 Gray Dist. Prosp. Eton viii, Keen Remorse with blood defil'd. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. xiii, Mr. Tremlow..had betrayed the keenest mental terrors. |
b. Of language: Sharp, severe, incisive, cutting.
| a 1400 Pistill of Susan 199 Þe renkes reneyed Þis comeliche accused with wordes wel kene. 1595 Shakes. John iii. i. 182 Good Father Cardinall, cry thou Amen To my keene curses. 1670 Evelyn Diary 28 Aug., Enjoyning me to make it a little keene, for that the Hollanders had very unhandsomely abus'd him. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. l, They pointed their keenest satire against a despicable race. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 120 Keen speeches had been made,..but nothing had been done. |
6. a. Of persons: Eager, ardent, fervid; full of, or manifesting, intense desire, interest, excitement, etc. Also, of desire, feeling, etc.: Intense.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 1011 Þan eiþer hent oþer hastely in armes, & wiþ kene kosses kuþþed hem to-gidere. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 252 Þough he crye to cryst þanne with kene wille. 1570 Levins Manip. 69/35 Keene, feruidus. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 86 A dull fighter, and a keene Guest. 1715 Lond. Gaz. No. 5383/3 The Courage of the..Troops was never Keener. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. i. (1869) I. 10 When he first begins the new work he is seldom very keen and hearty. 1827 D. Johnson Ind. Field Sports 51 The keenest native sportsman I ever met with. 1862 Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. II. ii. 38 In this age of keen competition. 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. i. 10 They were listened to by high and low with the keenest enjoyment. 1880 M{supc}Carthy Own Times III. xlv. 346 He had a keen interest in some branches of science. |
b. Const.
about,
against,
at,
for,
† of, or with inf.; also
colloq. on (
upon): interested in; also, sweet on, in love with.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 1892 Corageous & kene ȝoure clere gold to wyn. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §68 She wyl not holde to it, excepte she be kene of horsyng. 1711 Budgell Spect. No. 116 ¶4 Sir Roger is so keen at this Sport. 1714 Swift Pres. St. Aff. Wks. 1755 II. i. 208 Men were not so keen upon coming in themselves. 1768 Beattie Minstr. i. lviii, Still keen to listen and to pry. 1855 Kingsley Serm. Times xiii. 217 Religious professors..are just as keen about money. 1874 S. Cox Pilgr. Ps. iii. 67 Who is more keen for gain than the modern Jew? 1889 E. Dowson Let. 15 May (1967) 78 Is there anything you are particularly keen on? 1893 Stevenson Catriona ix. 97 He was keen to say good-bye to ye. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 653 They'll let nature take its course if they don't feel keen on a man surviving. 1936 R. Lehmann Weather in Streets iv. iii. 418 She's attractive, intelligent, amusing—and obviously pretty keen on me, my dear. 1943 C. Bax Time with Gift of Tears xxxix. 226 Maxine urged Guinivere to take Buster Graham more seriously. ‘He's frightfully keen,’ she said, ‘on you.’ |
7. a. Of the eyes or eyesight: Sharp, penetrating. Hence, of hearing, smell, or other sense: Acute, highly sensitive. Also of persons or animals: Sharp
of (sight, smell, etc.).
| c 1720 Gay Songs & Ball., New Song New Similies, Her glance is as the razor keen. 1789 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Expost. Odes i. Wks. 1812 II. 217 Hunting, like Blood-hounds, with the keenest noses. 1822 Hazlitt Table-t. i. ii. 30 Looking through those he saw, till you turned away from the keen glance. 1841 James Brigand xxvi, I for one have keener perceptions when an enemy is near. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xxvi. (1878) 448 She looked hard at me with her keen gray eyes. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 28 Dogs keen of scent and swift of foot. |
b. Of persons: Intellectually acute, sharpwitted, shrewd: often with mixture of sense 6. Also of the mind or mental operations: Endowed or conducted with great acuteness.
| 1704 J. Logan in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. IX. 324 He seems to me one of the keenest men living. 1794 Sullivan View Nat. II. 75 When the keenest researches are..proceeding in the different parts of the European world. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. iii. 521 To this poor swain a keen attorney came. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 246 Nature had given him a keen understanding. 1880 L. Stephen Pope iv. 102 Her letters are characteristic of the keen woman of the world. |
c. Of the face or looks: Suggestive of mental acuteness or sharpness.
| 1798 Wordsw. Peter Bell i. xxiii, His face was keen as is the wind That cuts along the hawthorn-fence. 1894 Punch CVI. 109 Her hair which so cunningly curled About her keen face. |
† B. adv. = keenly.
Obs.| a 1400 Chaucer Merciles Beaute 3 So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 872 Thou art ane sarazine..that counteris sa kene. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus i. 636 Outthrow the hart thay thirll me sa kene. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 588 Hunger and thirst..quick'nd at the scent Of that alluring fruit, urg'd me so keene. |
C. Comb. a. Parasynthetic, etc., as
keen-aired,
keen-bladed,
keen-eared,
† keen-edge,
keen-edged,
keen-eyed,
keen-faced,
keen-fanged,
keen-nosed,
keen-scented,
keen-sighted (hence
keensightedness),
keen-visioned,
keen-witted, etc.
| 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 434 The winds Blown o'er the *keen-air'd mountain by the North. |
| 1906 Macm. Mag. Apr. 457 An escort of sturdy little Japanese armed with service rifles and the *keen-bladed katana. |
| 1908 E. Wharton Hermit iv. 25 She was a light sleeper, and *keen-eared. |
| 1629 Massinger Picture ii. i. Wks. (Rtldg.) 219/2 With his *keen-edge spear He cut and carbonaded them. |
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 98 Here is my *keene-edg'd Sword. 1829 T. Hook Bank to Barnes 128 Unrivalled in..keen-edged satire. |
| 1781 Cowper Expost. 631 The *keen-eyed eagle. 1921 Keen-eyed [see firm-lipped]. |
| 1797 T. Park Sonn. 72 *Keen-nos'd Sancho..foretells a Partridge nigh. 1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid iv. 76 Massylian riders galloped behind a keen-nosed pack. |
| 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid iv. 132 Hounds *keen-scented of race. |
| 1862 Bagehot in National Rev. Jan. 214 If you place the most *keen-sighted lady in the midst of the pure futilities..of an aristocracy, she will sink to the level of those elements. |
| 1813 L. Hunt in Examiner 3 May 278/2 His strength, his *keensightedness, and his ferocity. |
| 1836 J. H. Newman in Lyra Apost. (1849) 121 *Keen-visioned seer, alone. |
| 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvii. IV. 21 Sarcasms..dropped but too easily from the lips of the *keenwitted Dorset. |
b. Adverbial, with active and passive
pples., as
keen-bent,
keen-biting,
keen-bitten,
keen-cut,
keen-judging,
keen-piercing,
keen-set; also with
adj., as
† keen-cold.
| a 1758 Dyer Fleece ii. 158 Rough winds *Keen-biting on tempestuous hills. |
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. 698 The..*keen-cold thicknes of that dampish Cloud. |
| 1871 Palgrave Lyr. Poems 114 One *keen-cut group..Sophocles could show. |
| 1819 Shelley Cenci iv. iv. 115 Your gentleness and patience are no shield For this *keen-judging world. |
| 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. iv. (1877) 34 I'm just *keen-set for my supper. |
▪ III. † keen, v.1 Obs. rare.
[f. keen a.] trans. To render keen; to sharpen.
| 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner Aa iij b, Now, lest thou keen thy blunted appetence. c 1689 Popish Pol. Unmaskt 35 in 3rd Coll. Poems (1689) 23/1 You Cow the Bold, and Keen the Cowards heart. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 1259 When cold Winter keens the brightening flood. |
▪ IV. keen, v.2 (
kiːn)
[f. Ir. caoin- (kiːn), stem of
caoin-im I wail: see
keen n.]
1. intr. To utter the keen, or Irish lamentation for the dead; to wail or lament bitterly.
| 1811 [implied in keener1]. 1845 A. M. Hall Whiteboy vi. 55 The men..in general suffer the women to ‘keen’ as long as they please. 1853 C. Brontë Villette xlii. (1890) 518 Peace, peace, Banshee—‘keening’ at every window! 1857 G. Lawrence Guy Liv. xvii. (1866) 165 It is the wild Irish women keening over their dead. |
2. trans. To bewail with Irish wailing.
| 1830 Crofton Croker in Fraser's Mag I. 200 Suppose that I am dead, and you were sent for to keen me..No one would keen you as I would. |
3. To utter in a shrill wailing tone.
| 1893 W. R. Le Fanu 70 Yrs. Irish Life 278 The wild, wailing Irish cry, ‘keened’ by many women. 1897 Cornh. Mag. Mar. 339 His witch-like voice keened out, ‘Good God!’ [etc.] |
Hence
ˈkeening vbl. n.| 1876 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms 248 When the body was laid down..the keening was suspended. 1892 Stevenson Across the Plains 264 The high voice of keening..strikes in the face of sorrow like a buffet. |
▪ V. keen var. kin n.2;
obs. dial. var. kine,
pl. of
cow;
obs. f. ken v.
1