Where does “kan” come from?
kan (Danish) comes from Danish kunne, from Old Norse kunna, from Proto-Germanic kunnaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵneh₃- — to know.
kan (Danish): present of kunne
Ancestry of “kan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Danish | kunne | to be able, can; to be allowed, may; could,... |
| 2 | Old Norse | kunna | to know, understand, be able to; to know; to... |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | kunnaną | to know, to be familiar with, to recognise; to... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵneh₃- | to know |